Research has shown that the robots help improve educational and social skills, but much more research is needed to discover how these changes can be captured and translated into the real world.
How does AI play into this? Technology has progressed, but so has research into how perceptions are formed, how people can distract each other’s feelings and thoughts, and what emotional intelligence entails. These insights can be translated into algorithms that allow robots to interpret speech, gestures and complex verbal and non-verbal signals and learn from feedback.
Danielle Kovach, who teaches third grade special education in Hopatcong, NJ, said she’d be curious to see what further research shows. “So much of teaching social skills to students with autism is reading facial expressions, reading body language, and picking up on social cues from others. Can a robot mimic those things we learn from humans?” she said Dr. Kovach is also the president of the Council for Exceptional Children, an organization of special education professionals.
While the social robots are mainly used in research studies, there is an emerging market targeting classrooms and individuals. For example, LuxAI, a Luxembourg-based company, has been selling the friendly-looking QTRobot, designed for children with autism, to parents since early 2021; at the moment it only works in english and french.
Children with autism interact with the robot for 10 minutes to an hour daily, depending on their age and the level of support needed, said Aida Nazari, co-founder of LuxAI. The company has sold several hundred QTRobots, mostly to families in the United States, she added. But many families may find that a social robot is way too expensive right now: QTRobot costs $2,000 plus a $129 monthly software subscription, which includes support services.
Rachel Ricci was the first person in Canada to order a QTRobot and receive it in February 2021. Her son, Caden, 10, was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old. Caden and his parents or therapist use tablets to play games aimed at improving his educational social skills, such as recognizing and naming emotions. QTRobot serves as an encouraging third friend and teacher.
He uses it for 30 minutes five days a week and “QT helps him build his confidence,” said Ms. Ricci. Getting the robot during the pandemic was a lifesaver, she added: While most of his classmates at a Montreal school for people with autism declined when the school closed and therapists were unavailable, Caden stayed on the right track. track. Ms. Ricci attributes that to QTRobot.
