British robot helping autistic children with social skills

'This is nice, it tickles me,' Kaspar the social robot tells four-year-old Finn as they play together at an autism school north of London. Kaspar, developed by the University of Hertfordshire, also sings song, imitates eating, plays the tambourine and combs his hair during their sessions aimed at helping Finn with his social interaction and communication. If Finn gets too rough, the similarly sized Kaspar cries: 'Ouch, that hurt me.' A therapist is on hand to encourage the child to rectify his behaviour by tickling the robot's feet. Finn is one of around 170 autistic children that Kaspar has helped in a handful of schools and hospitals over the last 10 years.