The use of robots as a tool for enhancing therapeutic and diagnostic options for individuals with autism spectrum disorder has been developing over the last decade. New Canaan Library is pleased to present Yale Professor Brian Scassellati, who will speak about the topic on Wednesday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Adrian Lamb Room. Please register online at newcanaanlibrary.org.
In a collaboration by researchers and clinicians, research is beginning to demonstrate that robots improve engagement and elicit novel social behaviors from people (particularly children and teenagers) with autism. Why robots in particular show this capability remains a question. This talk will focus on how robots can help prompt, measure, and evaluate social behavior in individuals with autism.

Brian Scassellati is a Professor of Computer Science, Cognitive Science, and Mechanical Engineering at Yale University and Director of the NSF Expedition on Socially Assistive Robotics. His research focuses on building embodied computational models of human social behavior, especially the developmental progression of early social skills. Using computational

modeling and socially interactive robots, his research evaluates models of how infants acquire
social skills and assists in the diagnosis and quantification of disorders of social development, such as autism. His other interests include humanoid robots, human-robot interaction, artificial intelligence, machine perception, and social learning.