Meet the little robot that helps children with autism

A breakthrough in technology can help mothers and fathers of children who are part of the Autistic Spectrum in one of the most challenging fields of their daily lives: interaction.

People with autism often have difficulty interacting and communicating with functionality. And it is precisely to become a major aid in this process that researchers from LuxAI, an arm of the University of Luxembourg focused on innovation in Artificial Intelligence, developed QTrobot, this nice little blue and white robot.

"The robot has the ability to create a triangular interaction between the human therapist, the robot and the child. Immediately, she begins to turn to the educator or therapist to ask questions about the device or give feedback on his behavior, " he explained. the company's cofounder, Aida Nazarikhorram.

With its LCD face, it projects emotions through simulated facial features and expressions to help the child better understand each other's mechanics.

Researchers are excited about the novelty, as initial analyzes have found that QTrobot helps reduce anxiety in boys and girls with autism and contributes to reducing stereotyped behaviors such as clapping. example.

By mediating therapists' interactions with children and their parents, the robot makes them feel more comfortable and lessens the use of tools such as the tablet, introducing something more like a human being into therapy. which naturalizes interaction with people outside that context as well.

For now, QTrobot is not yet sold to parents and is in the process of being deployed with Applied Behavior Analysis therapists' offices and other similar approaches for Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Soon, however, a home version should be available. You can subscribe to the LuxAI website to receive a warning when this option is active.

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Meet the little robot that helps children with autism via TecMundo