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NAO for Autism

Our research team began in 2011 to embark on a journey in helping the autism community with the aid of a small humanoid robot by Aldebaran Robotics.


In March 2012, we kicked-off with a pilot study on the initial behavior of autistic children of various intelligence levels when exposed to simple human-robot interaction (HRI) modules executed by the humanoid robot NAO. All 12 children had been specifically assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and their diagnosis was classified as autistic disorder. The children were aged from 5 to 13 years old with IQ scores between 44 to 107. We hypothesize that NAO’s human-like appearance, its capability to blink its eyes, speak and play music; coupled with the simplicity of the HRI modules will be able to entice the children’s interest to engage in communication. Hence, this would significantly reduce the children’s autistic characteristics in communication behavior compared to the usual class setting.

During the robot-based intervention program at NASOM Titiwangsa

Results from the pilot study are suggestive of good initial response by the autistic children towards robot-based intervention, specifically in the subscale of stereotyped behaviour and communication. Nevertheless, response in social interaction with the robot was less encouraging. Therefore, in the next stage of the study, the interaction modules executed by the robot need to be more socially appealing and hence encourage natural, sustainable engagement with the children.

Currently my research is focusing on validating an instrument to evaluate child-robot interaction and also developing an online site that connects research engineers and clinical people to share information on utilizing humanoid robots to help children with autism.

Latest update (completed my PhD thesis in June 2015, viva on 15 July 2015):




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