A test subject wears a sensor suit that measures movements and expressions through a robot named Zeno.

Texas Instruments and others are working with the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) on innovative robotics research that may be able to help diagnose autism in infants and toddlers. A new online article highlights this research and introduces Zeno, a lifelike 2-foot tall robot with facial expressions that can walk and gesture with two hands.

UT Arlington researchers have teamed with colleagues at TI, the University of North Texas Health Science Center, the Dallas Autism Treatment Center and Hanson Robotics of Plano, Texas to rewire and rework Zeno and other lifelike robots to improve early detection of autism, according to UTA's article.

Their goal is to create a human robot interaction system that will be used for early diagnosis and treatment for children suffering from autism spectrum disorders.

The researchers aim to develop a robot that not only interacts with autistic children but that also can measure the child's movement and indicate what therapies work best.

They may incorporate responsive cameras in the robot's eyes, similar to the technology in game systems like the Microsoft's Xbox Kinect.

Robots with vision tools could record a child's movements and mimic behavior.

Robot hardware based on TI chips and cameras can be used to fashion the future control and perception system for the robot to record movement from an autistic child.

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