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(Photo courtesy BYUPROVO -- A former BYU student is getting over $100,000 from the National Science Foundation to get autistic children to play with LEGO robots. Early indications show these robotic tools could be a major help for some children.
It may not work for every child with autism, but BYU graduate Nicole Giullian is taking her grant to see how robots can help improve therapy for certain kids.
"It has potential for a certain class of [autistic child], and we're still defining what that class of children is, actually," says Dr. Mark Colton, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at BYU.
Colton says Giullian hopes to take her grant to MIT and continue her research there. The robots may not seem high tech -- they're made out of LEGO Mindstorm programmable robotics, which is perfect for the study.
"It's reconfigurable so she'll be able to tailor therapies for specific kids," says Colton.
Colton says some children with autism shy away from people and are attracted to robots or other toys. But these robots could possibly get the child to interact with their therapist.
Colton says, "Therapists will be able to use these LEGO toys to build cool robots with the children that then can be controlled to do things that will help that specific child."
Getting a post-graduate fellowship from the NSF isn't easy. Colton says the field of students applying for them is very competitive.
"The money is pretty good. It's for three years and [is] over $100,000 that includes travel money and tuition," he says.
Colton says the goal is to try these robots in clinical settings.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
