A humanoid Robot called Kaspar has been designed to engage specifically with children with autism, helping them to interact and communicate with adults and other children. Matthew Stock reports.

British researchers have designed a humanoid robot capable of engaging with autistic children, helping them to interact and communicate with their peers and adults. Kaspar is helping break down the social barriers faced by many children with autism. The child-sized humanoid can talk, comb its hair, imitate eating, play the tambourine and sing with children. Its face was designed by a team from the University of Hertfordshire to be simple, with easy-to-read expressions.