Designing Socially Assistive Robots for Paediatric Rehabilitation (In Situ Design for Ongoing Clinical Deployment)

Physical rehabilitation relies on patients adhering to a prescribed rehabilitation programme. This is especially challenging with children, where they often lack an understanding and motivation to comply with their rehabilitation. Socially Assistive Robots are an emerging technology for paediatric health care applications, offering versatility that can target the needs of diverse patient cohorts. While previous research established the potential benefits of robots in rehabilitation, there remains a significant gulf between proof-of-concept and the on-going deployment of the technology. This thesis explored how such robots can be designed and evaluated to deliver rehabilitation for on-going clinical deployment in busy hospital settings.