Jammo-VRobot: A Cost-Effective Solution for Social Skills Training Programme for Children with High-Functioning Autism

This study reviews the efficacy of incorporating a 3D environment alongside a virtual interactive robot for the purpose of imparting communication skills training to high-functioning autistic children. The research presents a non-immersive virtual setting known as interactive Jammo-VRobot, showcasing a three-dimensional robotic entity. The objective is to elevate the social abilities of HFA children by providing a user-friendly program that can be effortlessly employed by parents or educators in either home or school settings. This program for social skills training is derived from effective methodologies utilised with tangible robots. The conducted study, including 15 participants, focused on three social abilities, emotion identification and expression, imitation, and intransitive gestures. Finding from the experimental sessions suggest promising outcomes, revealing that the interactive Jammo-VRobot environment effectively enhances the particular social skills addressed in the study. Comparisons with physical robots used in state-of-the-art approaches demonstrate similar positive results, highlighting that Jammo-VRobot is equally effective in training the interpersonal abilities of HF autistic children. The results imply that Jammo-VRobot effectively tackles certain constraints linked to the accessibility and expenses associated with interactive robots and immersive virtual environment solutions.