Edù, a Robotic Companion in Pediatric Protective Isolation Units

Hospital isolation is often a traumatic and stressful experience, especially for children, since it implies not only the acceptance and management of the illness but also the detachment from the family environment. This paper presents a methodology to develop a social robot to accompany children in a critical period of medical care: the protective isolation units. A user-centered and multidisciplinary design approach has been adopted to include not only the technological aspects of robot development but also the psychological impact of its adoption. Desk research highlighted the technical limitations of pediatric isolation, while medical experts offered insights on the medical procedures. In addition, applied research with flexible materials was conducted during the development of the final prototype. As a result, a pediatric companion robot called Edù was developed to help hospitalized children coping with their daily routine and teach them how to behave during medical procedures and checkups. In Edù project, the applied methodology is based on User-Centered Design and utilizes Fast Prototyping techniques aimed at enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the final product. The originality of this contribution is mainly related to the demonstration of how even in the field of robotics, a typical engineering and computer science field, the contribution of design is essential, especially when the final users and usage contexts have peculiar characteristics. The healthcare world, too, is rapidly moving towards the use of automated systems and robots, specifically social robots; this project can have a significant impact on multidisciplinary project teams designing technological and robotic products intended for people in situations of stress caused by both illnesses and forced stays in hospital or unfamiliar environments.