ARIEL | Assessing childRen manIpulation and Exploration skiLls

Summary
Investigating object manipulation is crucial for the comprehension of child development and the early assessment of sensorimotor impairments. However, no current available methods allow a complete and widespread characterization of the process: (i) they do not measure all the core components of manipulation, such as the object motion and the forces applied; (ii) they are too expensive due to the cost of the devices or the need of expert annotators; (iii) they are not designed for children. ARIEL (Assessing childRen manIpulation and Exploration skiLls) aims to develop myCube (multisensory Cube) a tool enabling quantitative assessment of object manipulation, designed to be engaging for children and accessible at low cost, both for neurotypical children and those with neurological and developmental disorders. MyCube is a lightweight sensorized cube measuring its orientation in space and the position and pressure of tactile contact points on its faces. It produces vibratory and auditory feedback and presents raised patterns on the surface, which can be haptically explored. The myCube design allows for easy customization of the stimulation, with a simple way of substituting the patterned silicon faces. Stemming from the promising results of the ERC wHiSPER project in the assessment of individual haptic exploration, ARIEL will: (i) develop the myCube device, software, and haptic assessment procedures; (ii) validate its effectiveness in a large cohort of school-aged healthy children and a group of children with cerebral palsy in collaboration with expert clinicians, and (iii) plan a feasible market implementation to maximize its impact. The resulting myCube kit, composed of two myCubes, the software for data analysis, and the haptic assessment testing procedure, will represent a holistic tool including all the desired features for a low-cost, non-invasive, precise, and customizable assessment of children’s haptic skills in manipulation.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101189387
Start date: 01-05-2025
End date: 31-10-2026
Total budget - Public funding: - 150 000,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

Investigating object manipulation is crucial for the comprehension of child development and the early assessment of sensorimotor impairments. However, no current available methods allow a complete and widespread characterization of the process: (i) they do not measure all the core components of manipulation, such as the object motion and the forces applied; (ii) they are too expensive due to the cost of the devices or the need of expert annotators; (iii) they are not designed for children. ARIEL (Assessing childRen manIpulation and Exploration skiLls) aims to develop myCube (multisensory Cube) a tool enabling quantitative assessment of object manipulation, designed to be engaging for children and accessible at low cost, both for neurotypical children and those with neurological and developmental disorders. MyCube is a lightweight sensorized cube measuring its orientation in space and the position and pressure of tactile contact points on its faces. It produces vibratory and auditory feedback and presents raised patterns on the surface, which can be haptically explored. The myCube design allows for easy customization of the stimulation, with a simple way of substituting the patterned silicon faces. Stemming from the promising results of the ERC wHiSPER project in the assessment of individual haptic exploration, ARIEL will: (i) develop the myCube device, software, and haptic assessment procedures; (ii) validate its effectiveness in a large cohort of school-aged healthy children and a group of children with cerebral palsy in collaboration with expert clinicians, and (iii) plan a feasible market implementation to maximize its impact. The resulting myCube kit, composed of two myCubes, the software for data analysis, and the haptic assessment testing procedure, will represent a holistic tool including all the desired features for a low-cost, non-invasive, precise, and customizable assessment of children’s haptic skills in manipulation.

Status

SIGNED

Call topic

ERC-2024-POC

Update Date

26-11-2024
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Horizon Europe
HORIZON.1 Excellent Science
HORIZON.1.1 European Research Council (ERC)
HORIZON.1.1.1 Frontier science
ERC-2024-POC ERC PROOF OF CONCEPT GRANTS