Controlled Autonomous Robot for Early detection and Rehabilitation of Autism and Intellectual Disability

EU-funded researchers have developed a pioneering robot therapist capable of screening for and treating autism and associated intellectual disability. Best of all, its control is straightforward and accessible with a smartphone so parents can use it at home.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental disorder that creates challenges in communication and social interaction. When not treated, these disabilities can create anxiety and affect personal and professional relationships, even impairing employment.

In the US alone, approximately 1 in 59 children aged eight years old, in other words 1-2 % of those children, was diagnosed with ASD in 2014 and the numbers are likely a significant undercount. Making matters more complicated, many children with ASD have an accompanying intellectual disability (ID) and treatment can be lifelong.

With support of the Marie Curie programme, EU-funded researchers working on the CARER-AID project set out to improve diagnosis and therapy of children diagnosed with ASD and ID.

The problem with conventional therapies

A defining characteristic of ASD is the inability to correctly perceive emotions and interpret facial expressions. Children with ASD and ID also have deficits in cognitive and adaptive skills, making treatment more difficult and often less effective.

Imitation training is an important therapy for ASD. However, current methods either require two nurses (one to execute actions and one to support the child) or a nurse and a robot whose behaviours are entirely activated by the therapist at the expense of focused interaction with the child.

A simple and effective solution

CARER-AID researchers developed an easy-to-use autonomous humanoid robot that can both screen children and deliver therapy, engaging the child in games (‘imitate my movements’ or ‘recognise the emotion’) that reveal or treat typical deficits in ASD or ID.

Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms automatically analyse recorded video for performance and the robot can even provide feedback. The software uses a simple interface accessible via a browser on any device including smartphones. These technological advances are tremendous, overcoming some of the limitations of the current robotic paradigm and making the robot easily controllable by anyone with a smartphone.

Preliminary results are generating excitement. In experiments led by grant recipient Daniela Conti, six children hospitalised with severe ASD and various levels of ID received the robotic therapy eight times over four weeks. According to project coordinator Alessandro di Nuovo, “the children were able to learn new skills from the robot and transfer them to human-human interaction. In the follow-up test after 3 months, the children maintained the acquired skills.”

Based on the success of a pilot study, the robot may also find work telling stories filled with emotion to healthy children, freeing up teachers for more specialised tasks. The team is currently adapting the technology to help nurses reduce anxiety in children with autism before invasive interventions like blood tests or having a broken bone set. Discussions with robot manufacturers may enable bundling the software with an existing robot for large-scale production.

CARER-AID has delivered a humanoid robot that promises to improve diagnosis and treatment of children with ASD and ID. In addition, simple, smartphone-controlled robotic aid in monitoring and therapy could make the difference between a child remaining in the home or not. Wide-reaching access is assured by the consortium’s plan to make the software open source and freely available for download from the project website.

Reference source: Controlled Autonomous Robot for Early detection and Rehabilitation of Autism and Intellectual Disability