DOMER: A Wizard of Oz interface for using interactive robots to scaffold social skills for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This report describes the development of a prototypical Wizard of Oz, graphical user interface to wirelessly control a small, humanoid robot (Aldebaran Nao) during a therapy session for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The Dynamically Operated Manually Executed Robot interface (DOMER) enables an operator to initiate pre-developed behavior sequences for the robot as well as access the text-to-speech capability of the robot in real-time interactions between children with ASD and their therapist. Preliminary results from a pilot study suggest that the interface enables the operator to control the robot with sufficient fidelity such that the robot can provide positive feedback, practice social dialogue, and play the game, “Simon Says” in a convincing and engaging manner.