Monday, March 02, 2009

Babies & Robots: Infant Power Mobility On Display

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ScienceDaily (Feb. 16, 2009) — Children with mobility issues, like cerebral palsy and spina bifida, can’t explore the world like other babies, because they can’t crawl or walk. Infant development emerges from the thousands of daily discoveries experienced by babies as they move and explore their worlds.

Mobility-deprived kids start exploring when they can operate a traditional power wheelchair, typically at age 3 or often older.

Research done by University of Delaware researchers is turning that on its head and could potentially change the way these children’s brains develop.

Physical therapy professor Cole Galloway and mechanical engineering professor Sunil Agrawal have developed tiny power chairs babies as young as 6 months can operate using a joystick.
Now, they’ve paired with Permobil, a national producer of power chairs, and outfitted a chair for toddlers.

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