Innovation

The concept is deceptively simple: a rubbery, yellow robot that be-bops its way into the hearts of children and helps researchers to learn more about children's social development and autistic behavior.

Pittsburgh-based BeatBots, a Carnegie Mellon spinout, is developing a line of robotic toys that bring research, therapy and entertainment together in a place where children are the most comfortable—the playroom. The first product, an endearingly, quiet fellow named Keepon, has a camera in his eyes and a microphone in his nose that collects information while the children play.

“The idea with Keepon’s design was to make it as simple a social creature as we could make, with no arms or legs. He can express social cues through bodily movement,” explains Marek Michalowski, a doctoral student in the Robotics Institute and company founder along with Dr. Hideki Kozima, a professor at Miyagi University in Japan.

Therapists interact with the children through the robot. As a result,  therapists and parents see behaviors they normally don’t see. “Some children seem to find Keepon's simple appearance and behavior less overwhelming than human social behavior.,” he says.

Keepon’s gentle nature and Japanese aesthetic have made him a celebrity of sorts, too. He has his own music video, dancing to a song by Spoon, his own line of t-shirts, on sale through the company’s Zazzle shop and has made numerous media appearances including NPR and Entertainment Weekly, .

To bop along with Keepon in Spoon's "Don't You Evah," click here.

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Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Marek Michalowski, Carnegie Mellon University; Lenore Blum, Project Olympus

Photo courtesy of Jan Moren