CASTOR: CompliAnt SofT Robotics (IAPP1\100126 / 2018-2020)

Funding

Royal Academy of Engineering - Industry-Academia Partnership Programme Colombia/UK, Colombian School of Engineering Julio Garavito, Plymouth University.

Abstract

Children with autism have difficulties in social skills, attention, emotions recognition, and sometimes repetitive or aggressive behaviors. In Colombia, it is estimated that 1 in 110 children have autism. Socially Assistive Robotics (SAR) have been used in this field to assist the diagnosis, improve eye contact and joint attention, increase self-initiated interactions, and engage in simple activities with the aim of encouraging basic communication, imitation, and emotion recognition.

The aim of this project is to develop CompliAnt SofT Robotic technologies to build the next generation of SAR in autism therapies, based on soft and robust social robots that combine fiber optics sensors, bio-inspired actuation and social robotics design.