The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of Cognition Enhancement Program (CEP) using toy-robot for children aged 5–10 years. We thought that CEP using toy-robot might be a more kids-friendly method for improving cognitive ability than traditional programs. The enhancement of cognitive functions such as attention, response inhibition, memory, and working memory after the cognition training were the focus of the study.

One hundred and twenty children aged 5 to 10 were ramdomly assigned to 3 groups: (1) experimental group receiving CEP training using toy-robot, (2) control group receiving previously developed internet-based cognitive training, (3) waiting list. The children of experiment and control groups received individual 8 training sessions. The effect of the program was measured with Smart Toyweb's cognitive assessment tools we had developed (smart device based assessment) as well as traditional neuropsychological tests throughout 3 times (pre-training, post-training, and 1-month follow-up).

The training is in progress since it started in October 2016. We observed some of children on the CEP training tend to show improvement of cognitive function. The final assessment is planned for February 2017.

The CEP using toy-robot could be very promising and useful in that it is a non-invasive and non-pharmacological treatment for children with attention or memory problem in home and clinical settings.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.