VACO: a Multi-perspective Development of a Therapeutic and Motivational Virtual Robotic Agent for Concentration for children with ADHD
Birte Richter, Ira-Katharina Petras, Anna-Lisa Vollmer, Ayla Luong, Michael Siniatchkin, Britta Wrede
TL;DR
This work presents VACO, a multi-perspective development of Flobi, a motivational virtual robotic agent designed to improve concentration in children with ADHD. By integrating clinicians, developers, parents, and children in a staged, participatory process, the project moves from a survey of parental expectations through prototype development to initial usability testing with end users. Findings indicate substantial parent interest under homeschooling stress, and the first prototype achieves good usability and positive reception among children, with clear guidance for iterative refinement. The study demonstrates the feasibility and value of multi-stakeholder co-design for AI-assisted ADHD interventions, aiming to extend attention-training both in clinical settings (ADHD camps) and at home, pending rigorous efficacy evaluation.
Abstract
In this work, we present (i) a novel approach how artificial intelligence can support in the therapy for better concentration of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) through motivational attention training with a virtual robotic agent and (ii) a development process in which different stakeholders are included with their perspectives. Therefore, we present three participative approaches to include the perspectives of different stakeholders. An online survey (Study I) was conducted with parents in Germany with the aim of ascertaining whether they would use software to promote their children's attention, what influences their attitude towards using it, and what requirements it would have to meet. About half of the parents would be willing to use software to promote attention. To develop the software as close to practice as possible, one of the developers took part in an intensive training for ADHD with the aim of testing which of the elements are technically feasible. Afterward, a first prototype was presented to clinicians (Study II) to make further adjustments. A first feasibility test (Study III) was conducted with the end users to check if the system works and if children and adolescents can use it. Attentional performance software offers multiple opportunities in the treatment of ADHD if the system is adapted to the needs of the practitioner and end user. This development process requires a lot of time and close interdisciplinary collaboration.