Academics at the UAE University are currently developing a humanoid robot that can show emotions and have the ability to care for special needs children.
According to The National, the project, which brings together experts from science and social science fields, aims to build human senses into robots.
Dr Fady Al Najjar, an expert in neuroscience and robotics, believed the robot could be of great assistance in autism therapy.
“Although autism is a worldwide problem, we in the UAE are one of the populations who suffer most,” he said.
He cited statistics from 2013 that stated one child in 50 born in this country has autism.
Because robots do not show emotions, they are perfect to deal with the complex behaviour of autistic children, Dr Al Najjar said.
“Our humanoid-robot will first aim to win the attention of the child, since the attention is the key factor to stimulate the child’s mirror neurons, the source of social development in human beings. Secondly, we will target the motor coordination training of the autistic children through the robot.”
Key factors will be the robot’s communication skills, body movement and ability to evaluate.
Sociologist Dr Massimiliano Cappuccio, said there were ethical issues to iron out, such as to whom the robot would ultimately be responsible – its owner or the manufacturer.
“Is it possible to infuse morality into robots?” Dr Cappuccio asked. “Can you give them an ethical code of conduct, and if so, what is that?”
He said this development would be “the next industrial revolution, comparable to the introduction of cars”.
Meanwhile, Dr Jose Berengueres, a professor of design thinking and robotics, is working on the machine’s appearance, creating artificial skin and muscles that replicate those of a human being.
