Developers demonstrate the capabilities of Fuxiaozhi F1-D robot. Photo: courtesy of China's Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University

The Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in East China has unveiled the country's first humanoid diagnostic and treatment robot that deeply integrates non-invasive brain computer interface (BCI) technology, Science and Technology Daily reported on Sunday. The robot is expected to help address long-standing challenges in early intervention of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, bringing good hope to the rehabilitation of more than 13 million autism patients in China.

The robot, Fuxiaozhi F1-D, was jointly developed by the university in collaboration with the Fujian Big Data Group and other organizations, per the report. It makes its debut at the university's recent Artificial Intelligence Innovation Achievements Release Conference.

For children with autism, early intervention is particularly crucial. Traditional rehabilitation faces bottlenecks such as a shortage of professional resources, tedious training processes and highly subjective effect evaluations. The robot brings a completely new solution."

"Compared with most BCI applications at home and abroad, which mainly focus on robotic arm control or simple feedback, the newly-developed robot's unique advantage is that it is the first to deeply integrate non-invasive brain control with a humanoid robot platform featuring flexible limbs and a human-like interactive interface. This makes it more suitable for rehabilitation scenarios that require whole-body coordination and situational interaction," said Kong Xiangzeng, dean of the Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Artificial Intelligence at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University.

During the "mind interaction" with the robot, children's attention level and motor imagery abilities are directly translated into observable robot movements, generating objective data. This process can provide quantitative references to assist in the early screening and assessment of autism.

Such interaction helps increase children's interest in training, allowing them to naturally engage in social learning through immersive experiences. 

Kong noted that the Fuxiaozhi F1-D is not intended to replace humans, but rather to handle standardized interactions and data recording tasks. This allows therapists to focus more on emotional communication and personalized program design, thereby improving the efficiency and scientific rigor of rehabilitation. It serves as an "intelligent collaborator" for rehabilitation therapists.

It is reported that the robot has already moved out of the laboratory and established collaborations with multiple hospitals and institutions. 

It will soon begin exploratory applications in real-world scenarios. In the future, this technology is expected to expand to a broader range of fields, such as stroke rehabilitation and motor function reconstruction, according to the report.