A robotic social reciprocity in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The authors aim at deeply investigating the underlying mechanisms of social reciprocity in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) by designing and developing a new generation of humanoid robots able to interact in an unstructured environment with children with ASD, stimulating their reaction, giving and receiving objects and finally anticipating their actions. During the interaction, an external sensors network (eye tracking, movement's analysis, inertial measurement units) will measure all the fundamental parameters for the models analysis. The research aims at the development of new psychological and neuro-scientific models related to the communication and the social reciprocity in children with ASD are expected to be developed.