Devices & Diagnostics, Health IT, Startups

This robot has 4 wheels, 1 ‘eye’ & the potential to be a learning tool for autistic children

The One robot, pictured at right, is under development by a startup and a community […]

The One robot, pictured at right, is under development by a startup and a community of autism patients, parents and caregivers in Florida to help teach communication and social skills to children with developmental disabilities

To be clear, the concept of an autism robot isn’t new. As some of the hallmark characteristics of autism spectrum disorders are communication, social and learning challenges, many autistic children seem to be more interested in systematic communication with computers than with humans.

As a result of that observation, companies like Aldebaran Robotics, for example, have created humanoid robots for use in classrooms. But Jalali Hartman, founder of ROBAUTO, said existing robots aren’t accessible to most children with autism because they’re so expensive. ROBAUTO is designing a device that is says will cost a few hundred dollars and will be simple and durable enough for use at home.

After launching at last year’s One Spark crowdfunding festival in Jacksonville, the company began holding focus groups and observing how people with autism interacted with a variety of devices, from iPads to robots.

The team asked children, parents and caregivers to explain what their ideal robot would do, and how it would help them.

What they found was that their first target market, teenagers, wanted their robots to look like a car. They wanted it to be human enough to relate to, but not too human that it was threatening or that they had to take care of it.

Hartman said his team designed its robot around those components and added basic functionalities like navigation, lights and sounds.

“It’s meant to behave almost like a puppy coming into a room — to get their attention and keep their attention, to roam around and come up to people,” he explained. “The robot is supposed to be a center of focus that they can relate to, and also a hub for gathering information about what’s going on around them.”

On that note, the ultimate vision is that the robot will also collect data on things like noise levels and potentially even biofeedback.

The company just wrapped up at the Healthbox Florida accelerator program and now has its first prototype complete. Next, it plans to refine the design and then launch a crowdfunding campaign to get the device into the hands of some 500 users around the first of the year, Hartman said. Already, a few hundred people and teaching centers are on the list to participate in beta trials.

That feedback will be used to refine the robot. Hartman anticipates that the final product will cost a few hundred dollars and will be available to consumers next summer.

[Photos from ROBAUTO]

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