top of page

Social Robot

Snoozy Suzy
Tufts University, 2019

Our mission is to develop an aid for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to encourage a more healthy and complete sleep routine for both children with ASD and their caregivers.

 

To help parents put children with ASD to bed each night and keep them in bed until an acceptable time in the morning, we propose Snoozy Suzy, a social robot with an emotive display serving as a friendly bedtime companion. Snoozy Suzy is a firm, but also plush, weighted stuffed animal with two screens. Snoozy Suzy is programmable by parents through a separate phone application, so that parents can customize Snoozy Suzy’s bedtime routine. The use of Snoozy Suzy will help establish a nightly bedtime routine for children with autism, helping them stay in bed throughout the night, and teaching them when it is time to wake up.

​

This was a group project by Linda Cameron, Lena Chang, Samantha Levy, and Rhea Montgomery-Walsh.

expressions.png

PHYSICAL SNOOZY SUZY

To provide a sense of security and comfort for the child, Snoozy Suzy is weighted and filled with tempurpedic foam, such that Snoozy Suzy has structure and can sit upright while also being nice to snuggle. 

Snoozy Suzy has two screens: (1) a face screen and (2) a belly screen. Both screens are relatively small and covered with a clear, plush material so that Snoozy Suzy can still be comfortably cuddled. Both screens do not use blue light; rather, they both use warm light instead.
 

FACE SCREEN
The face screen displays different facial expressions throughout the day and evening. During the day, Snoozy Suzy’s face is alert and happy. Throughout the predetermined bedtime routine time frame (as customized by the parent in the Snoozy Suzy phone application), Snoozy Suzy’s eyelids begin to droop and continue to close further until it is bedtime—at bedtime, Snoozy Suzy’s eyes close completely. In addition, throughout this bedtime routine time frame, Snoozy Suzy begins to yawn periodically with increased frequency as bedtime approaches. 
 

BELLY SCREEN
The belly screen is much smaller than the face screen, and only displays an icon. The icon displayed on the belly screen corresponds with the time-of-day and time-of-bedtime-routine. For example, during the day the screen displays a sun. During the bedtime routine, depending on the exact timing and parents’ custom choices, the screen may display a book to signal reading time, a crayon to suggest drawing time, a toothbrush to imply teeth-brushing time, or a bathtub to imply bath time. All of these customizable bedtime routine activities are quiet and calming, helping to cut out any stimulating activities before bed. Once it is bedtime, the belly screen displays a star and moon throughout the night until it is time to wake up. 
 

EVENING/NIGHT
Once it is bedtime, both screens turn off completely so the child can sleep in complete darkness. However, if the child wakes up in the middle of the night and wants to know if it’s time to wake up, the child can press the button on top of Snoozy Suzy’s head. This will turn on both screens to the dimmest setting, so the child will just be able to make out Snoozy Suzy’s sleeping face and star and moon belly. This will tell the child that it is not yet morning and that it is not time to get up. If the button is pressed during the bedtime routine, Snoozy Suzy will play sounds programmed through the parent app; for example, parents can program the button to play classical music, white noise, or to read a story. All sounds come out of Snoozy Suzy’s ears, as they have speakers embedded within.
 

MORNING
In the morning, both screens will slowly and steadily begin to glow to full brightness for the 30 minutes prior to the designated wake-up time programmed through the parent app. This is to mimic the natural light of the sun rising to help naturally wake-up the child. 
 

RESPONSE TO TOUCH
Furthermore, Snoozy Suzy is interactive and responds to touch and backrubs. If petted on the back, Snoozy Suzy will slightly vibrate in response, almost like a purr. Snoozy Suzy’s facial expression will change to a smile as well. This functionality will make Snoozy Suzy more interactive and companion-like; additionally, it will play into children with autism’s comfort and enjoyment to pressure touch.

Caregiver App Demo

PHONE APPLICATION

A phone application will pair with Snoozy Suzy for parents or guardians to use. The application will allow the adult user to customize Snoozy Suzy’s bedtime routines. Within the phone application, there will be functionalities to:

  • Set bedtime routine start time and routine end time (actual bedtime)

  • Set routine timing and quiet activities (e.g. reading time, brushing teeth time, etc.)

  • Customize icons displayed on Snoozy Suzy’s belly screen

  • Program Snoozy Suzy’s head button to do specific things during bedtime routine  (e.g. play classical music, white noise, or stories) and sleep time

  • Set wake up time and customize morning lights

screens.png

BACKGROUND ON ISSUES

“Sleep disturbance impacts cognition, it impacts mood, and it impacts behavior” (1). Proper sleep patterns are integral to maintaining optimal health, especially for children. In fact, research shows that by the age of 2, a child will have spent about 40% of their childhood asleep (2). 
    
Despite this, research has shown that between 44 and 83 percent of children on the autism spectrum have some sort of difficulty with sleeping (1). Clinicians have found that the most common cause of slumber issues in children with ASD is insomnia: the difficulty in falling and staying asleep (3). Additionally, children with ASD often have communication difficulties, which results in a decreased ability to identify and understand bedtime social cues (4). Children with ASD also often have an increased sensitivity to external sensory information, such as sound and touch. For instance, contrary to a normal developing child who may not awake when their parent opens the bedroom door or kisses them goodnight, a child with ASD might wake up. 
    
This difficulty sleeping has major consequences for the children with ASD as it can significantly impair normal development. In addition to the child, it can negatively impact the child’s caregiver. For example, a child with ASD who struggles to sleep will frequently call to their caregiver for assistance or guidance throughout the night (5). Disrupting not only their own sleep schedule but also the caregiver’s, this behavior negatively impacts both the child and caregiver’s quality of life. As a result, children and caregivers deserve a solution to improve their quality of life.

TASK ANALYSIS

The following task analysis outlines the steps required for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to prepare for and go to sleep. It incorporates both required decision making and emotive displays by the Snoozy Suzy to optimize the approach. 

USER PSYCHOLOGY

The intended users of the Snoozy Suzy are children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, children with ASD often require a great deal of support from their caregivers on any given day. Therefore, although it is vital to consider the psychology of these children, it is also imperative we consider the psychology of the caregivers who support them each day. As such, the following characteristics are grouped based on user. 

 

CHILDREN WITH AUTISM 

Desires

  • Assurance of when to be awake vs. asleep

  • Feel ready to go to bed

  • Feel physically comfortable lying in bed

  • Feel mentally and emotionally comfortable lying in bed

  • Feel physically comfortable sleeping beside Snoozy Suzy


Constraints

  • May struggle to accurately interpret cues from Snoozy Suzy

  • May not view Snoozy Suzy as an authority figure

  • May not understand sleep routine as unhealthy or needing changes


Fears

  • Snoozy Suzy itself

  • Navigating sleep routine without caregiver


Uncertainty

  • Reliability of Snoozy Suzy

  • Discriminating between cues from Snoozy Suzy


Doubt

  • Trusting Snoozy Suzy


Aspirations

  • Improved comfort sleeping

  • Improved quality of sleep


​

CAREGIVERS FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM


Desires

  • Child effectively assured when it is time to wake up 

  • Child’s anxiety levels reduced

  • Child's nighttime dependency on caregiver reduced 

  • Healthy bedtime habits and routine established

  • Child receives full night of sleep (~10 hours)


Constraints

  • Caregiver cannot monitor all interactions between child and Snoozy Suzy

  • Snoozy Suzy requires a great deal of trust from caregiver


Fears

  • Snoozy Suzy malfunctions during the night

  • Child faces increased difficulty sleeping due to additional stimuli from Snoozy Suzy

  • Snoozy Suzy will be an annoyance


Uncertainty

  • Child accurately interprets Snoozy Suzy and its bedtime cues


Doubt

  • Child will trust Snoozy Suzy

  • Snoozy Suzy can effectively communicate bedtime cues to child

  • Child will be able to depend only on Snoozy Suzy throughout the night


Aspirations

  • Improved comfort sleeping for child and caregiver

  • Improved quality of sleep for child and caregiver

USER WALKTHROUGH

During the day, Snoozy Suzy will be smiling and will have a sun on its icon display. When it is time for bed, the Snoozy Suzy’s facial expressions and icons will change with time depending on what the user’s parents inputted in the schedule section of the Snoozy Suzy app.  
             
USER PERSONA


Justin is a 12 year old boy on the autism spectrum. His vocabulary is somewhat limited, but he can fulfill his basic needs (e.g. go to the bathroom, eat, communicate basic needs, etc.) on his own. At school he is placed in a special class for students on the special needs spectrum, and learns best when an activity involves music. Justin is very reliant on his parents and other people to navigate his world and to get around. He can only be left alone for short periods of time. Justin’s days are usually very structured and have a set routine. What has been particularly difficult at night however, is putting Justin to bed. Justin never seems to get tired, and has trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. This has been somewhat troublesome for his parents who have a difficult time putting him to bed, and are also constantly woken up in the middle of night due to Justin waking up multiple times throughout the night. His parents have found it helpful to read a long bedtime story to Justin at night to put him to bed. When Justin wakes up in the middle of the night, his parents frequently have to read stories in the middle of the night to put him back to sleep. Waking Justin up can be troublesome at times as well, as Justin will often oversleep or wake up too early. Once Justin is awake, he is awake and very ready to start his day. Justin also loves watching TV Shows and baseball. 

Justin’s parents found the Snoozy Suzy, and decided to give it a try. They have been tired of being woken up multiple times throughout the night. Justin’s parents downloaded the Snoozy Suzy app and scheduled Justin’s bedtime activities. His schedule is as follows:

7:30PM - Bathe
8:00PM - Change into PJs
8:10PM - Brush teeth
8:20PM - Read a story
8:45PM - Go to sleep 

Justin’s parents chose a story for the Snoozy Suzy to read to Justin for that night.  After programming the Snoozy Suzy, Justin’s parents have to do very little in Justin’s bedtime routine.

Before bedtime, Justin is usually in his room doing various activities. At 7:30PM, he can see that Snoozy Suzy is becoming tired, as the robot’s eyes are becoming droopy. To Justin, this indicates that it is the start of his bedtime routine. On the icon display of Snoozy Suzy, a bathtub appears. This prompts Justin to bathe. After he bathes, at 8PM the icon on the Snoozy Suzy will be PJs, indicating that Justin should get dressed to go to bed. Justin retrieves his PJs from his dresser and changes. The Snoozy Suzy now has a toothbrush icon on it. This tells Justin to brush his teeth. After he brushes his teeth, it is time for storytime. Justin turns the lights off, gets into bed, and Snoozy Suzy begins reading a story. Justin enjoys cuddling the Snoozy Suzy. Eventually, during this time period, Justin falls asleep. By 8:45pm, the Snoozy Suzy has stopped reading the story and its eyes are fully closed. The icon being displayed is a moon and stars indicating that it is time to sleep. In the middle of the night, Justin wakes up. He presses the button on top of the Snoozy Suzy and sees that its eyes are closed and that the moon and stars are present on the icon display. Justin goes back to sleep. A few hours later, Justin wakes up again, and sees that the moon and stars are still on the display but needs to be comforted to go to sleep. Justin presses the Snoozy Suzy button and soothing music begins to play. Eventually, Justin falls back to sleep.

​The next time Justin wakes up is morning. The Snoozy Suzy has its eyes open and is smiling. The icon display shows a sun. When Justin sees this, he knows it is time to wake up. He does so and goes on about his day. 
​

  1. https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/wide-awake-why-children-with-autism-struggle-with-sleep/

  2. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/children-and-sleep

  3. https://www.spectrumnews.org/opinion/viewpoint/exploring-sleep-in-children-with-autism/

  4. https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/health-daily-care/sleep/sleep-problems-children-with-asd

  5. https://www.spectrumnews.org/features/deep-dive/get-children-autism-sleep/


​

bottom of page