UTM’s teddy helps autistic kids

A comforting face: Asnida (left) and project member and senior lecturer Dr Muhammad Faiz Md Shakhih (centre) monitoring the movements of the AI-powered robot teddy on her laptop as student and project member Qistina Balqis Zaidi (right) gives a demo.

JOHOR BARU: This cuddly teddy bear is no ordinary stuffed toy – it is powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to give children with autism a better quality of life.

The robot, known as “TeddyTherapy”, was designed by a team of researchers from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to help children with autism improve their gross motor skills through guided movement exercises.