autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Our Experience with Robot-Assisted Intervention at MOVIA Summary: Providing successful interventions to children with ASD is very challenging. Robotic-Assistive Technology is showing promising results in this area. MOVIA Robotics has developed tools to provide Robot-Assisted Intervention to the special needs community. Timothy Gifford, founder of MOVIA Robotics describes how RAI works and how it is beneficial to neuro- diverse individuals and the supporting community. This article details results, and lessons learned from RAI’s use in over 60 schools and by over 50 families.
MOVIA Robotics is committed to helping those in the special needs community to achieve their potential. We want to help them gain skills and confidence to be able to be successful at home, in school, and on the job. We provide tools for teachers and specialists for use in the classroom. Our tools also help clinicians provide therapeutic interventions. These benefits are also available to families in the home as well.
Robot-Assisted Interventions (RAI) makes this all possible. With the HomePal, a family can provide RAI to their child with an economical package. The Teacher’s Aide provides the educational community with a sophisticated training intervention for their students. With our latest product, the TheraPal, the clinical community can provide therapeutic benefits to individuals within their practice. It’s all in an easy-
TIMOTHY GIFFORD is the founder of Movia Robotics Inc and is a researcher at the University of Connecticut. Gifford has consulted and presented internationally on Robot Assisted Intervention Autism, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Collaborative Robotics, Human Perception and Assistive Technology. Gifford’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health among others. Gifford has several publications and has been cited multiple times. Gifford and UCONN were jointly awarded a patent for a novel therapeutic technique utilizing robots. Gifford held the position of Director of the Advanced Interactive Technology Center at the University of CT. and was the Scientist in Residence at The Connecticut Science Center. Gifford is a serial entrepreneur who has created several companies in robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. He has an IP portfolio including licenses with UCONN and other entities. Gifford is active in international business development and is a founding member of Hartford Health Works as well as being a member of the Global Business Council. Gifford’s companies have done work for NASA, IBM, Biogen, Bank of Boston, The World Economic Forum and GTE among others. Gifford has won awards for business development, virtual reality implementation, filmmaking and animation. Gifford led the team that built the first Virtual Reality Exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution. Movia Robotics received the Business Champions Award and the Gold Award for Social Impact.
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