Humanoid robot helps in autism awareness

(ANSA) - Bari, March 20 - 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.