Addressing the needs of very young children with motor limitations or delays to move independently, Assistance in Motion has developed and offers a hands-free robotic mobility device- designated WeeBo - that infants as young as six months of age can learn to drive. A primary focus is on enabling very young children with motor limitations to move independently. Children learn a great deal about their physical and social environments when they begin to crawl and walk. Delayed mobility in infancy, due to conditions such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and Down syndrome, limits opportunities to explore the world and interact with others. The lack of movement can result in secondary disabilities that impact cognitive, language, and social development, affecting quality of life. The WeeBot could reduce these secondary disabilities by providing mobility to children with disabilities at the same age that typically developing children begin to move independently. The WeeBot uses a unique weight-shift control method that is well-supported by years of research with infants at Ithaca College. The WeeBot moves as children lean toward objects and people of interest. This intuitive control method has not been implemented in any other pediatric mobility devices.
