A humanoid robot designed to help
in therapy for small children with autism made its debut in
Puglia on Friday, in a conference held to launch an awareness
campaign about early intervention in autism.
The campaign is a pilot project of groups Lega Cooperative
and Confcooperative with support from European MP Elena Gentile,
a former councillor for welfare for the Puglia Region.
Gentile said the robot, called Zeno, could have its debut
in a state-funded center for autism currently being built in
Cerignola.
The multimedia interactive robot was produced in Texas and
runs on software called RoboMate designed by a start-up in
Catania, and until now has been used only in Catania.
Zeno can produce life-like facial expressions and express
human-like feelings which therapists can use to help autistic
children improve their social interaction.
Bartolo and Giuseppe Moretti, brothers who run a
cooperative called "Occupazione e Solidarietà" (Employment and
Solidarity) in Bari, want to bring the robot to Puglia with the
goals of training educators to bring robotics into their work,
and in preventative autism screening of children from ages 0 to
3.
"If therapy with an autistic child starts between 18 and 40
months, the child's life will be significantly different and the
child will have more opportunities for their future," the
brothers said.
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