Therapeutic Robotic Toy for Autistic kids

 Human Robotic Interaction Project - Guide: Dr. Bibhudatta Baral

Human-robot interaction (HRI) is the study of interactions between humans and robots. Apart from its industrial perspective robotics is slowly entering social life.
As advances in technology continue, people with disabilities are benefiting from it. It is observed that autistic kids are comfortable towards interacting with robotic toys or any mechanical toy as compared to humans.They can identify patterns among randomly moving objects easily.

Process

In this project the initial contextual study of an alumini was used. Certain insights were derived along with understanding of basic robotics. The final concept was a randomly moving robotic toy which can help autistic kids to relate to non linear thinking. A working prototype was designed.

Product

The final product of the project was a working prototype of a robotic toy which moved randomly. The toy also went away from any obstruction or humans who tresspassed it. This majorly helped autistic kids stay connected to the toy to play rather than just destroying it. It got some news coverage in Indian express. You can also view the video of the product here.