Among its many possibilities, technology is often explored as a means of developing better forms of treatment for people with long-term physical and mental disorders. Recently, a research project was conducted at the University of Southern California to find a way to help autistic children become more sociable among other people. In this project led by USC computer scientist Maja Matari´c, a robot was created to assist autistic children in gradually adjusting to a social situation.
This robot is called Bandit, a two-wheeled, gray, humanoid machine with large eyes that is about the size and height of a regular kid. The machine is equipped with stereo cameras for eyes and infrared sensors which enable it to track a child’s current position and behavior and its wheels allow it to move independently as well. Bandit was also given programming to make it capable of doing facial expressions and movements as it attempts to engage socially with an autistic child. Currently, the robot only has the capability for performing basic social skills such as arm gestures and it’s not yet able to understand human speech. Furthermore, Bandit is operated remotely by a researcher who instructs it to act accordingly in response to a child’s reactions to the robot.
Maja Matari´c calls Bandit “a catalyst for social interaction”. The robot’s purpose to help autistic children overcome common weaknesses and behavioral tendencies such as inability to speak clearly, habits like hand-flipping and being obsessed with objects like toys and electronic devices. One autism expert from England is psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen of the Autism Research Center at the University of Cambridge, who also commented on the issue of social interaction. He said that autistic kids tend to trust objects such as computers and electronic devices because they’re very predictable while people are not. The behavior of other people is less predictable and potentially distressing for autistic children, so they often find comfort in objects.
Matari´c intends to perfect Bandit eventually in other aspects of robotics such as artificial intelligence, machine vision, mechanical and electrical design, and signal processing. Then robots can be very effective in treating autistic patients through careful, social interaction without frightening them. Matari´c also hopes to make robots like Bandit available for the same cost as a laptop in the next ten years.
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