New Robot Is Teaching Autistic Kids About Emotions
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this Monday, Feb. 28, 2011 photo, Eden Sawczenko reacts as she reacts to 'Kaspar' the robot who is showing the 'Happy' stance of two open arms as she takes part in research project in Hatfield, England. (AP)
Children with autism often resist cuddling or holding – but a new robot is changing all of that. His name is Kaspar, and he’s teaching kids about emotions and physical contact.
Take the case of Eden Sawczenko who used to recoil when other little girls held her hand or turned stiff when they hugged her. But since she began playing with Kaspar – the 4-year-old now hugs everyone.
"She's a lot more affectionate with her friends now, and will even initiate the embrace," said Claire Sawczenko, Eden's mother.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Eden attends a pre-school for autistic children in Stevenage, north of London, where researchers bring in a human-looking, child-sized robot once a week for a supervised session. The children, whose autism ranges from mild to severe, play with the robot for up to 10 minutes alongside a scientist who controls the robot with a remote control.
Kaspar is programmed to do things like smile, frown, laugh, blink and wave his arms. He has shaggy black hair, a baseball cap, a few wires protruding from his neck, and striped red socks. He was built by scientists at the University of Hertfordshire at a cost of about $2,000.
There are several versions of Kaspar, including one advanced enough to play Nintendo Wii. The robot's still in the experimental stage, and researchers hope he could be mass-produced one day for a few hundred dollars.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Children with autism don't react well to people because they don't understand facial expressions," said Ben Robins, a senior research fellow in computer science at the University of Hertfordshire, who specializes in working with autistic children.
"Robots are much safer for them because there's less for them to interpret and they are very predictable."
There are similar projects in Canada, Japan and the U.S., but the British one is the most advanced according to other European robot researchers not connected with the project.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Scientists at the University of Hertfordshire first began using a version of Kaspar in 2005.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.