Leveraging Robotics Research for Children with Autism: A Review
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paper_title: Proceeding Of Mechanical Engineering Research Day 2015 (MERD’15)

paper_content:

This Open Access e-Proceeding contains 74 selected papers from the Mechanical Engineering Research Day 2015 (MERD’15) event, which is held in Kampus Teknologi, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (UTeM) - Melaka, Malaysia, on 31 March 2015. The theme chosen for this event is ‘Pioneering Future Discovery’. ::: The response for MERD’15 is overwhelming as the technical committees have received more than 90 papers from various areas of mechanical engineering. From the total number of submissions, the technical committees have selected 74 papers to be included in this proceeding. The selected papers are grouped into 12 categories: Advanced Materials Processing; Automotive Engineering; Computational Modeling and Analysis & CAD/CAE; Energy Management & Fuels and Lubricants; Hydraulics and Pneumatics & Mechanical Control; Mechanical Design and Optimization; Noise, Vibration and Harshness; Non-Destructive Testing & Structural Mechanics; Surface Engineering and Coatings; Others Related Topic. ::: With the large number of submissions from the researchers in other faculties, the event has achieved its main objective which is to bring together educators, researchers and practitioners to share their findings and perhaps sustaining the research culture in the university. The topics of MERD’15 are based on a combination of advanced research methodologies, application technologies and review approaches. ::: As the editor-in-chief, we would like to express our gratitude to the editorial board members for their tireless effort in compiling and reviewing the selected papers for this proceeding. We would also like to extend our great appreciation to the members of the Publication Committee and Secretariat for their excellent cooperation in preparing the proceedings of MERD’15.
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Title: Leveraging Robotics Research for Children with Autism: A Review
Section 1: Introduction
Description 1: Provide an overview of autism, its diagnosis, prevalence, and the necessity of robotic tools in intervention programs for children with autism (CWA). 

Section 2: Novelty of Our Review
Description 2: Explain the uniqueness of the review, previous reviews in the field, and highlight gaps in existing research.

Section 3: Method of Review
Description 3: Describe the methodology used to conduct the review, including the criteria for article selection and parameters set to filter relevant research articles.

Section 4: Robots
Description 4: Review different robots used in intervention programs for CWA, including their technical specifications, capabilities, and the context of their use in previous research.

Section 5: Medical and Engineering Content
Description 5: Discuss the interdisciplinary nature of robotics research for CWA, focusing on articles that included both medical and engineering content.

Section 6: Contribution Towards Three Major Impairments in Autism
Description 6: Detail how various studies contribute towards addressing the major impairments in autism: communication difficulties, social interaction deficits, and stereotyped behaviors.

Section 7: Duration of Intervention
Description 7: Discuss the importance of the duration of robotic intervention programs, comparing short-term and long-term studies.

Section 8: Human-Robot Interaction Setting
Description 8: Describe the settings of human-robot interactions in various studies, including locations and environmental adaptations for CWA.

Section 9: Demographics of Participants
Description 9: Review the demographics of participants in the studies, including the number of children, age range, and inclusion criteria.

Section 10: Diagnosis Method
Description 10: Elaborate on the various diagnosis methods used for CWA in the reviewed studies.

Section 11: Review on Research Focus of Previous Work
Description 11: Analyze the focus areas of previous research, including specific skills and behaviors targeted by the robot-based intervention programs.

Section 12: Review on Contribution Towards Three Major Autism Impairments of Previous Work
Description 12: Summarize the contributions of previous research towards improving communication and social interaction, as well as reducing stereotyped behaviors.

Section 13: Review on Intervention Effectiveness of Previous Work
Description 13: Discuss the effectiveness of robot-based interventions as reported in various studies, including analysis methods and long-term vs short-term impact.

Section 14: Discussion of Future Research Direction
Description 14: Highlight future research directions based on identified gaps, focusing on research diversity, contributions towards autism impairments, and long-term intervention effectiveness.

Section 15: Conclusion
Description 15: Summarize the key findings of the review and the importance of future research to bridge existing gaps in robotics intervention for CWA.