Social Robotic Systems in Autism Therapy: Survey and Design Considerations

Abstract

A few technology interventions have been developed to help autistic patients in their daily activities; among the most promising are social robots. Robots are likely to impact immensely in the therapeutic process of children with autism, because some prior research indicate that autistic children easily familiarize and interact with a robot companion than humans. In this paper, a survey of existing research on robots in autism therapy, discussion of design issues and identification of novel potential research ideas in social robotic systems for autism therapy are presented.