'''Article:''' Robots as Assistive Technology - Does Appearance Matter? by Ben Robins, Kerstin Dautenhahn, Ren´e te Boekhorst, and Aude Billard. Interaction Studies 7:3, pp. 479-512

'''Introduction to paper:'''

See Alan's Thoughts on "Does Appearance Matter" (short).

'''Application to personal research:'''

Because research has already been started in this area (children's acceptance of robots based on appearance), maybe we should make sure to spend our time focusing our research in other areas. I find this area useful, yes, but secondary to learning how to invoke positive social behaviors in children with ASD.

Along with logging the robot's actions, it would be valuable to record video of the child interacting with the robot (as most research experiments did, including this one).

'''Questions:'''

• I know these research experiments focus on one individual at a time for good reason, but what if we DID perform therapeutic exercises involving a robot and multiple children?

'''Additional notes from paper:'''

• Children with ASD resist change in routine
• Overpowering sensory stimulus is a problem with some autistic children
• Children with ASD tend to avoid new people (strangers)
• Children with ASD react more favorably to new people who imitate them than those who respond to them in a non-imitating way.

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