New robot reads emotions, simplifies learning for children in UAE.

Summary: Improving their focus and attention span.

Staff Report

Humanoid robot to help measure (ASD) children's attention span. (Supplied photo)

Researchers at the United Arab Emirates University have developed a humanoid robot that can show emotions and help differently-abled children learn better.

The project builds human sense into robots to improve the focus and attention span of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

"The idea started from the point of view that, in one type of ASD, the children actually perceive human beings as complex objects," said Dr Fady Al Najjar, assistant professor at the College of Information Technology.

"They are kind of allergic to complexity so whenever they see it, they try to avoid eye contact and communication - as it's too much information for them."

Humans are generally able to handle the complexity, while those with some types of ASD are unable to filter out information. This makes it even harder for them to communicate, leading to a loss in academic and communication skills.

"They cannot look at people and do the same thing they do, which is one type of learning," Dr Najjar said.

"We learn by observing other people or communicating with others, so if you lose that, you will lose the ability to learn. This is one of the hypotheses."

Statistics from 2013 revealed that one child out of every 50 born in the country has autism.

"We need to decrease the complexity for these children and help them cultivate greater awareness and attention," the professor said.

"With that attention, we can teach them academic and social skills."

Reducing complexity for children of determination is complicated because doctors and therapists cannot constantly be forced to keep their emotions and behaviour stable.

On the other hand, a robot's emotion can be controlled and simplified to gain the youngsters' attention.

"While we do that, we can then do the training and teach them social, academic or communication skills," he said.

"We come up with an object, whether a robot or a character on a screen, and then simplify it as much as possible to get the child's attention. If you achieve eye contact, then you can teach the child the skills you are aiming for, like mathematics, and you can expect a better outcome from the learning."

The team of academics is currently measuring such children's attention span to be able to prove that it increases when simplified objects, robots or software are introduced to them.

"We put those faces on the robot. It has human characteristics and a screen showing different emotions, but simplified. Some children will love the idea of having a robot while others will pay more attention to the screen characters," Dr Alnajjar added.

The project has been deployed in collaboration with a team of therapists at Al Ain Hospital, where data was also recorded from the children involved.

The next step will involve introducing some academic skills to the children to see how they observe, and whether it helps them more than regular therapy.

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