Vanderbilt University researchers found that a robot designed to interpret body signals is able to accurately read the mood of children with autism spectrum disorders more than 80% of the time. The robot measures the heart rate, skin temperature and other signals of children while they play a video game. If it determines the child is getting stressed out, the robot will change the speed of the game or may play relaxing music. Researchers believe the robots work well for kids with autism because they are more predictable and consistent than humans — something these children can relate to and feel comfortable with. They’re working on creating a smaller version of the robot, so parents can work with it at home.

Click here to read the full story.