Zoom! Babies learn to ride robots at UD

[Guest guest]

This

is really neat…when Danny was a baby, he had pretty low tone,,didn’t

sit until his first birthday, etc. His therapists told us that we should not

use a baby walker for him, but his dad and I thought that it was important for

him emotionally and cognitively to be able to move around independently, so my

mother bought Danny a walker for his first birthday…he loved it. I didn’t

know the term ‘embodied development’ when Danny was a baby, but

that is what these researchers say…kids NEED to move around to enhance

learning..check it out (read both pages) very interesting…

KathyR(Danny

9 yrs w/Ds)

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Researchers

at the University of Delaware are providing safe mobility to children with

special needs who are unable to fully explore the world on their own through

the development of kid-sized robots that infants can drive using joysticks.

The

work is important because much of infant development, both of the brain and

behavior, emerges from the thousands of experiences each day that arise as

babies independently move and explore their world.

The

robot, UD1, is designed with smart technology to address safety issues so

infants can be a part of the real world environment, and in this way uses

technology to meet human need.

More information:

_http://www.udel.edu/research/media/babiesrobotsgallery.html