Study: Robots could help to detect mental health issues in children

Research has found the children are sometimes more willing to confide in child-sized humanoid robots than in humans or computers in other settings. — dpa

LONDON: Robots could help to detect mental wellbeing issues in children, a study suggests. Cambridge University researchers had a child-sized humanoid robot complete a series of questionnaires with 28 children aged between eight and 13 to assess mental wellbeing.

They found that the youngsters were willing to confide in the robot, sometimes sharing information that they had not yet shared via online or in-person questionnaires.