News and Knowledge

When most people think of robots, they think of mechanical inventions designed to make everyday tasks easier. Salem University’s School of Education professor Laurie Dickstein-Fischer and her husband, Gregory Fischer, a Worcester Polytechnic Institute robotics engineering professor, had a different idea. In development for more than six years, PABI, or the Penguin for Autism Behavioral Intervention, is a soft, cuddly robot that they believe may be able to help children with autism establish emotional connections.

PABI supports therapists by running interactive lessons for students, such as identifying pictures, according to an article on the Worcester Polytechnic Institute website. As it does, the article notes, it also collects data on the child’s responses and uses a camera to track the child’s gaze and facial expressions. The robot can communicate with children by moving its eyes and wings. Eventually, it will be able to communicate by speaking (in several different languages, according to Greg Fischer).

In addition to providing support for therapists, PABI’s inventors hope it can decrease the cost of ABA therapy for families and offer an at-home supplement to therapy, which may be especially useful during summer months, for example, when children are out of school.

A benefit to using PABI as a treatment method, according to the Worcester Polytechnic article, is that it allows for neutral repetitive action that is focused solely on the child. The Fischers are hopeful that PABI will play a beneficial role as an auxiliary treatment method that can provide support and help for therapists and parents and give children a safe option for interacting and learning.