China's first humanoid robot for autism treatment offers new possibilities for rehabilitation

China's first humanoid robot for diagnosis and treatment of autism has opened up new possibilities for autism rehabilitation and long-term care.

More than 13 million people in China are living with autism. Difficulties in screening, intervention, and rehabilitation have remained urgent challenges for their families.

The humanoid robot is capable of precisely capturing and interpreting subtle signals from the human brain, and translating them into its coordinated movements.

It combines brain-computer interface technology with humanoid robotics to support early screening and educational intervention for children with autism, and it enables more natural and varied interactions, which help children with autism feel more comfortable and engaged, said Kong Xiangzeng, executive dean of the Artificial Intelligence research institute under the Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in Fuzhou City of east China's Fujian Province.

"Brain signals are millions of times weaker than mobile phone signals. Blinking and heartbeat can also interfere, making them difficult to separate. Our team uses non-invasive, high-precision EEG technology to capture these weak signals without surgery," said Zhang Zhongji, assistant researcher with the institute.

Control algorithms independently developed by the research team can filter out interferences in real time, identify specific brainwave patterns and accurately translate them into control commands for the robot.

Healthcare specialists say early screening and rehabilitation are crucial for people with autism, yet current approaches often lack objective data.

Through "mind-based interactions" with children, the robot converts attention levels and motor imagery into measurable data, making screening more precise and rehabilitation more scientific and efficient.

At present, the project has received support from 11 national key research programs, with a complete technology chain and full independent intellectual property rights.

The robot has already been put into use and is now being applied in collaboration with hospitals and autism rehabilitation centers.

"When a child struggles to respond to certain questions, the robot can guide them more flexibly and quickly toward the correct answer. It also provides therapists with precise baseline data, making it easier for them to work together with the parents to develop personalized treatment plans for the child's next stage of therapy," said Kong.

The team says the humanoid robot platform will continue to expand beyond autism rehabilitation.

In the future, it is expected to support active rehabilitation for patients with stroke, spinal cord injuries, and other motor impairments, helping more people with neurological disorders regain everyday functional abilities.

China's first humanoid robot for autism treatment offers new possibilities for rehabilitation

New research on a sacrificial zone of China's renowned Sanxingdui Ruins showed the ancient Shu Kingdom moved its political and cultural center from Sanxingdui to Jinsha in southwest China's Sichuan Province due to an unintentional fire.

Located in the city of Guanghan, the Sanxingdui Ruins are believed to be remnants of the Shu Kingdom dating back some 3,000 to 4,500 years. Two sacrificial pits were discovered in 1986, while another six were found in 2021. The core area of this site covers 3.6 square kilometers. The ruins are renowned for their large and medium-sized bronze artifacts, many of which feature striking and elaborate designs.

Yuanjiayuan, the ritual and sacrificial core of Sanxingdui, spans approximately 13,000 square meters and houses all the eight sacrificial pits. Radiocarbon dating places the area's peak activity in the late Shang Dynasty, roughly 3,200 to 3,000 years ago.

"The Yuanjiayuan sacrificial zone is the most significant archaeological discovery at Sanxingdui in recent years. It is the only fixed, high-ranking ritual space we have confirmed at the site," said Ran Honglin, a research fellow at the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

By analyzing the shape, structure, and burial patterns of the pits alongside scientific testing of building debris, bamboo-wood ash, and damaged artifacts, the team has ruled out deliberate ritual destruction or sacrificial burning. Instead, differential damage patterns suggest a different story.

"Our research indicates that an accidental fire likely destroyed the ritual objects originally displayed in the temple. The ancient Shu people then buried the damaged items in six large pits in a specific order," Ran explained.

The varied degrees of damage support this theory. Large hollow bronze figures and bronze wine vessels were found severely fractured, while smaller solid bronze figurines and jade beads remained largely intact. Experts interpret this selective destruction as the result of collapsing architecture and falling debris, rather than intentional smashing. The fire, they believe, left the high-ranking sacrificial zone abandoned. Thereafter, the ancient Shu Kingdom shifted its political center some 40 kilometers south to the Jinsha site.

"We can confirm that the flourishing periods of Sanxingdui and Jinsha followed one another. This is supported by similarities in settlement location, internal layout, ritual remains, and the types of artifacts used at both sites. Both served as capitals of the ancient Shu Kingdom, with Jinsha emerging as the new capital after Sanxingdui," said Ran.

Research finds accidental fire prompts ancient Shu Kingdom to abandon old capital