Different gaze behavior in human-robot interaction in Asperger's syndrome: An eye-tracking study

O Damm, K Malchus, P Jaecks, S Krach…�- 2013 IEEE RO�…, 2013 - ieeexplore.ieee.org
O Damm, K Malchus, P Jaecks, S Krach, F Paulus, M Naber, A Jansen, I Kamp-Becker…
2013 IEEE RO-MAN, 2013ieeexplore.ieee.org
Social robots are often applied in recreational contexts to improve the experience of using
technical systems, but they are also increasingly used for therapeutic purposes. In this study,
we compared how patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) interact with a social robot
and a human actor. We examined the gaze behavior of nine ASD patients and 15 matched
controls using a mobile eye-tracker. Participants performed a task in which they were
required to follow the gaze of a robot or human actor. Our results show that ASD patients�…
Social robots are often applied in recreational contexts to improve the experience of using technical systems, but they are also increasingly used for therapeutic purposes. In this study, we compared how patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) interact with a social robot and a human actor. We examined the gaze behavior of nine ASD patients and 15 matched controls using a mobile eye-tracker. Participants performed a task in which they were required to follow the gaze of a robot or human actor. Our results show that ASD patients preferentially maintain eye contact during interaction with the social robot as compared to the human actor.
ieeexplore.ieee.org