There’s growing evidence that children with autism are more comfortable engaging with robots than with people. Makes sense as toys are often more approachable than people.

A recent study using the socially-assistive robot Milo, for example, found that autistic children were engaged 70-80 percent of the time with Milo compared to just 3-10% of the time with traditional approaches.

About one in 68 American children has autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and more robotics companies are starting to turn their attention to this area, including Origami Robotics. The Oakland, Calif.-based startup has created a socially-assistive robot named Romibo that speaks 48 languages and has been used to help people with autism, dementia, Down Syndrome, PPD-NOS, ADHD, anxiety disorders and more.

Photos: 5 Promising Robots for Kids with Autism

Jared Peters, co-founder of Origami Robotics, has been an autism educator for twelve years and has spent thousands of hours with kids on the spectrum. Peters joined The Robotics Trends Show to discuss how robots are revolutionizing autism therapy and how this area of robotics will continue to improve.

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