Imitation and learning of the emotional behaviour: Towards an android-based treatment for people with autism

Biological believability and how to design machines which can perceive, learn and make choices are currently being addressed in humanmachine interfaces. Once these ambitious targets have been reached, dynamic human-machine interactions will have to be studied focusing in particular on possible changes in the interactive structure and thus on any manifestations of emerging behaviours. The FACE (Facial Automaton for Conveying Emotions) project addresses both issues. FACE is a life-like artifact intended as a believable human-machine interface that is able to engage in non verbal communication by imitating and learning the emotional behaviour of an interlocutor. At present, the immediate objective is focused upon exploring its use in social skills and emotional therapy in individuals with autism. It will enable us to verify if the system can help children with autism to learn, identify, interpret, and use emotional information and to extend these skills in a socially appropriate, flexible, and adaptive context.