A research team from Istanbul Technical University (ITU) has developed a robotic system that can detect emotions and stress in children with autism through games using sensors and artificial intelligence.
The project was initiated by Professor Hatice Köse, faculty member of the ITU Department of Computer and Informatics, Artificial Intelligence and Data Engineering. Köse and Project Her team have developed a robotic system that uses sensors and artificial intelligence solutions to determine the emotions and stress of children with autism through games. As part of the project, a therapy game with a child-like robot named “Kaspar” was developed. In the course of the game, children’s emotions and stress were determined.
Köse said children with autism have difficulty expressing their emotions appropriately. “They do not respond to treatment or treatment, especially when they are stressed. It is not easy to understand their emotions and stress. Compared to adults, they reflect them very differently.” she said.
“Research and datasets developed in this field are always aimed at detecting stress and emotions in adults. These systems cannot be used efficiently in children. We aimed to understand the emotions of adults during their interactions with robots by processing data from various sensors with artificial intelligence,” she outlined.
In this context, Köse explained that he used Kaspar robots to develop an emotion recognition module supported by robotic systems and artificial intelligence. “We developed the Kaspar humanoid robot and its software in the UK for treatment sessions with children with autism.It is now being used in many countries for autism treatment. We also use it in our country as part of a project,” says Köse.
“Within our project, while children with autism were playing therapy games on Kaspar robots, we could monitor their eye movements, facial expressions, voice, and posture via various smart sensors. Also wears a smart bracelet to monitor physiological data.Analyzed by a professional psychologist.The data from these smart sensors is used to track your child’s stress, emotions and attention. We will develop an artificial intelligence model that reads ,” she added.
Emphasizing that within the scope of the project he worked with different children from Turkiye, Poland, England and North Macedonia and made comparisons, Köse worked with therapists, doctors and engineers from different countries within the project group. said.
“Children usually don’t look at people’s faces very often, but they often look at the faces of robots. We observed that when children sang along with robots in particular, they became interested in faces. Children interacted more with the robot while playing, which was detected through both expert observation and analysis and artificial intelligence models intertwined with sensor data. ‘ she emphasized.
