Augmented Reality Can Help Children with Autism Tap into Their Imaginations From: IEEE The Institute - 04/01/2015 By: Monica Rozenfeld One researcher's system helps them improve their play skills Playing pretend as a child - whether using a paintbrush as a wand or imagining a large cardboard box to be a castle - is more than just for fun. It is also an essential developmental activity that teaches children social and emotional skills and builds their self-esteem. However, most children with autism - a neurodevelopmental condition that affects the ability to communicate and interact with others - are less engaged in imaginative play. And this can have a profound impact on them into their adult lives. That's why PhD candidate Zhen Bai designed an augmented reality (AR) system that she hopes will nudge such children toward more imaginative play. Her system lets children see themselves on a computer screen as they would in a mirror. She then gives the children simple physical objects—foam blocks, for example—that appear on the screen as a car, train, or airplane. The system's computer-vision program detects where and how the child moves the block and mimics the activity in the image on the screen. Read the entire article at: http://theinstitute.ieee.org/technology-focus/technology-topic/augmented-reality-can-help-children-with-autism-tap-into-their-imaginations Link: Using Augmented Reality to Elicit Pretend Play for Children With Autism http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7000596&queryText%3DUsing+Augmented+Reality+to+Elicit+Pretend+Play+for+Children+With+Autism