Pirborj Leila Mouzehkesh, Mills Caroline, Gorkin Robert, Thiyagarajan Karthick
Smart Sensing and Robotics Laboratory (SensR Lab), Centre for Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Western Sydney University, Kingswood, NSW 2747, Australia.
Translational Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia.
Sensors (Basel). 2025 Jul 6;25(13):4215. doi: 10.3390/s25134215.
Children with physical disabilities are increasingly using socially assistive robots (SARs) as part of therapy to enhance motivation, engagement, enjoyment, and adherence. Research on SARs in rehabilitation has primarily focused on verbal and visual interaction, but little is known about tactile interaction (physical touch). The objective of this scoping review was to examine empirical studies published between 2010 and 2024 focusing on tactile interaction between SARs and children with physical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy (CP). Nine studies were identified as being eligible after a rigorous selection process, showing that although touch-based SAR interventions have been used in pediatric rehabilitation, structured methodologies and standardized tools are lacking for measuring tactile engagement. In light of the studies' findings, it is evident that few studies evaluate the therapeutic effects of touch-sensitive SARs, underscoring the need for validated frameworks to assess their efficacy. In this review, SAR and tactile sensing researchers, rehabilitation specialists, and designers are given critical insights into how tactile interaction can enhance the role of SARs in physical therapy.
身体残疾的儿童越来越多地使用社交辅助机器人（SARs）作为治疗的一部分，以提高积极性、参与度、愉悦感和依从性。康复领域对社交辅助机器人的研究主要集中在言语和视觉交互方面，但对于触觉交互（身体接触）却知之甚少。本范围综述的目的是审视2010年至2024年间发表的实证研究，这些研究聚焦于社交辅助机器人与身体残疾儿童（如脑瘫患儿）之间的触觉交互。经过严格筛选过程，确定了九项符合条件的研究，结果表明，虽然基于触摸的社交辅助机器人干预已应用于儿科康复，但缺乏用于测量触觉参与度的结构化方法和标准化工具。根据这些研究的结果，显然很少有研究评估触觉敏感型社交辅助机器人的治疗效果，这凸显了需要经过验证的框架来评估其疗效。在本综述中，社交辅助机器人和触觉传感研究人员、康复专家以及设计师获得了关于触觉交互如何增强社交辅助机器人在物理治疗中作用的重要见解。
