An intelligent ecosystem based on robotic assistants, rule-based reasoning and serious games to support early stimulation activities for children from low-income families

T. Luna-Marin, Y. Marin-Guaman, A. Perez-Munoz, A. Parra-Astudillo, Y. Robles-Bykbaev, V. Robles-Bykbaev, K. Gonzalez-Arias

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

According to the UNESCO, early childhood care and education is an essential process of the children development. Early childhood is the period from birth to eight years, where the children present a remarkable growth with brain development at its peak. In developing countries such as Ecuador, currently, do not exist formal educational programs based on serious games or educational robotics. This situation is more complicated for government schools or private institutions that attend children from low-income families. For these reasons, in this paper, we present an ecosystem aimed at stimulating the early development of children from 3 to 7 years. Our proposal (named in Kiwcha 'Yachasun', learn) relies on low-cost robotic assistants (to provide kinesthetic stimuli), an expert system based on rules (to suggest educational exercises and activities for children), and serious games (to stimulate and motivate children to learn). Our ecosystem was put to the test with 60 children from low and middle-income families during real classes. The results show that children feel highly motivated to learn concepts related to language, mathematics/logic, self-awareness/autonomy, fine motor skills, and coexistence.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationEDUNINE 2020 - 4th IEEE World Engineering Education Conference
Subtitle of host publicationThe Challenges of Education in Engineering, Computing and Technology without Exclusions: Innovation in the Era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, Proceedings
EditorsClaudio da Rocha da Rocha Brito, Melary M. Ciampi
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
ISBN (Electronic)9781728166384
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2020
Event4th IEEE World Engineering Education Conference, EDUNINE 2020 - Bogota, Colombia
Duration: 15 Mar 202018 Mar 2020

Publication series

NameEDUNINE 2020 - 4th IEEE World Engineering Education Conference: The Challenges of Education in Engineering, Computing and Technology without Exclusions: Innovation in the Era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, Proceedings

Conference

Conference4th IEEE World Engineering Education Conference, EDUNINE 2020
Country/TerritoryColombia
CityBogota
Period15/03/2018/03/20

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was funded by the Cátedra UNESCO Tecnologías de Apoyo para la Inclusión Educativa and the research project “Sistemas Inteligentes de Soporte a la Educación Especial (SINSAE v5)” of the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 IEEE.

Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Children
  • Early Stimulation
  • Low-income Families
  • Robotic Assistants

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