Can NAO Robot Improve Eye-Gaze Attention of Children with High Functioning Autism?

Presents the results of a preliminary study on understanding how humanoid robots can successfully improve social and communication skills among children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Children with ASD experience deficits in appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication skills including motor control, emotional facial expressions, eye-gaze attention, and joint attention. Studies have shown that positive feedback from the robot on the participants´ performance is an effective way to encourage children with ASD to communicate more. Other studies have also examined the use of affect recognition based on psycho physiological responses to modify the behaviors during a robotic game. However, there is limited information on the utility of humanoid robots´ positive.