A child-size humanoid bot with a face inspired by comics is being used to teach interaction skills to kids who may lack an instinctive understanding of social cues. A toy tambourine in Kaspar's lap adds to its perceived playfulness. A playful child-size humanoid robot with a face inspired by comics and Japanese Noh theater is being used to help teach autistic children social skills. They built the robot for $2,500 using a child-shaped mannequin for the body's base, off-the-shelf parts, and silicone-rubberRoboSkinwith embedded tactile sensors that detect different kinds of touch. Kaspar is part of theAurora Project, which is aimed at investigating the possible use of robotic systems as therapeutic or educational tools for autistic children.