KEYme: Multifunctional Smart Toy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Raquel Cañete, Sonia López and M. Estela Peralta
Additional contact information
Raquel Cañete: Department of Design Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School, University of Seville, 41011 Seville, Spain
Sonia López: Department of Design Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School, University of Seville, 41011 Seville, Spain
M. Estela Peralta: Department of Design Engineering, Higher Polytechnic School, University of Seville, 41011 Seville, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-29

Abstract: The role that design engineering plays in the quality of life and well-being of people with autism spectrum disorder around the world is extremely relevant; products are highly helpful when used as “intermediaries” in social interactions, as well as in the reinforcement of cognitive, motor and sensory skills. One of the most significant challenges engineers have to face lies in the complexity of defining those functional requirements of objects that will efficiently satisfy the specific needs of children with autism within a single product. Furthermore, despite the growing trends that point toward the integration of new technologies in the creation of toys for typically developing children, the variety of specialized smart products aimed at children with autism spectrum disorder is very limited. Based on this evidence the KEYme project was created, where a multifunctional smart toy is developed as a reinforcement system for multiple needs which is adaptable to different kinds of autism for therapies, educational centers or family environments. This approach involves the knowledge transfer from the latest neuroscience, medicine and psychology contributions to the engineering and industrial design field.

Keywords: social sustainability; smart product; autism spectrum disorder; inclusive design; therapy toys; design for ASD (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/4010/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/4010/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:4010-:d:529996

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().