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Design And Evaluation Of A Humanoid Robot For Autism Therapy, Daniel J. Ricks

Theses and Dissertations

Recent evidence has shown that children with autism may behave more pro-socially when interacting with a robot than with a human. The objective of this research is to develop a robotic system for use in the clinical treatment of children with autism. The governing assumption behind this thesis is that using a robot in a clinic, under the guidance of a trained therapist, may lead to therapeutic benefits that may not be achieved without the presence of the robot. The robot Troy was developed to fulfill such a role in a clinical setting. The primary objective was to design a …