Researchers have helped create apps and online platforms to assist children with autism. But one team at Vanderbilt University is introducing something which may have a leg up on capturing kids attention: humanoid robots.Mechanical engineers and autism experts constructed an adaptive system using NAO, a fully-programmable robot. Paired with cameras, sensors and computers, the friendly robot is designed to help children develop basic social learning skills. Check out the video above for more.The system structure, called ARIA Adaptive Robot-Mediated Intervention Architecture, uses the robot to give verbal prompts and gestures to the child to attract their attention. While eye contact is a natural skill for most developing children, those with autism may find it more difficult to maintain with other people and surrounding objects.The teams study found that those with an autism spectrum disorder spent significantly more time looking at the humanoid robot than a typically developing child.

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