Exploring the Feasibility of Prompting Daily Task Execution using the NAO Humanoid Robot with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Exploring the Feasibility of Prompting Daily Task Execution using the NAO Humanoid Robot with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Di Xue M.A.Sc Graduate Department of IBBME University of Toronto 2016 This thesis seeks to improve the state of the art prompting system, COACH, for the children with ASD population. It investigates the feasibility of using a humanoid robot, NAO, as its prompting agent through a Wizard of Oz (WoZ) pilot study. The WoZ study showed promising results of the robot potentially being used as an assistance to a child with ASD through hand-washing tasks. The study also suggested parent robot joint prompting sessions as a valid method for improving child’s compliance to the robot. The important challenges faced are summarized and possible recommendations for overcoming these challenges are suggested.