Professor Pena-Shaff's students presented the following posters describing the research conducted by their research team as part of the interdisciplinary, NSF-funded project, examining the effect of locomotor experience on young infants’ development of executive functioning:
Robotic assisted locomotion in non- crawling infants: can babies learn to drive? By Sarah Gervais, Emily Heerd, Judith Pena-Shaff, Nancy Rader, Carole Dennis, Sharon Stansfield, and Hélène M. Larin.
Our study examined the effects of using a robotic-assisted locomotion device on deliberate, goal-oriented movement in five 5-month-old infants. Infants participated in 12 play sessions over two months, in which they learned to navigate their environment by leaning. We measured total time moving, voluntary locomotion, and goal-oriented driving over time. Results show a significant increase in time ratios of voluntary and goal-oriented driving between initial and final sessions, suggesting more deliberate exploration using the device.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20160318102423615