QTrobot;
Credit: LuxAI
On Wednesday 10 December 2025, the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) announced the launch of the first large-scale, longitudinal scientific study exploring the use of a social robot-led early development programme at home for young autistic children, delivered through QTrobot.
Developed in collaboration with LuxAI, a company specialising in socially assistive robotics and AI-powered solutions, and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom (UK), the study will involve 69 families and is expected to conclude by the end of 2026.
Funded jointly by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) and Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy, the study aims to evaluate QTrobot, LuxAI’s humanoid social robot, as a tool to support autistic children aged two and a half to four and a half years in key developmental areas such as communication and language, social skills and learning.
QTrobot is designed to deliver interactive learning activities through engaging games and guided exercises, adapting to each child's pace while providing families with structured support tools they can use at home.
According to the LIH, this international collaboration marks a major milestone in early-years support for autistic children and digital health innovation, evaluating how socially assistive robots can enhance the accessibility and quality of early developmental support for both children and their parents.
"This is a landmark study for both early autism research and technology-supported learning," said Dr Manon Gantenbein, Head of the Clinical and Epidemiological Investigation Centre (CIEC) at the LIH. "So far, technologies like robots have shown very promising results in short-term, small-scale studies but their long-term effectiveness and usability have never been systematically examined. For the first time, we are conducting a large-scale, long-term study to rigorously assess the impact of a robot-led programme designed to empower both children and their families through home-based support."
Families in the West Midlands in the UK will take part in the study over a ten-month period, during which researchers will assess child development and parental self-efficacy to examine how robot-assisted programmes can support early developmental outcomes.
"Access to high-quality early support is still limited for many families across the world," noted Prof Karen Guldberg, Head of the School of Education at the University of Birmingham. "By combining research excellence and technology, this study could pave the way for engaging early support for autistic children and their families," she continued.
"We are proud to see QTrobot and its early-years development programme at the heart of such pioneering research," added Dr Aida Nazari, COO of LuxAI. "This study represents a crucial step in understanding how robots can deliver consistent, personalised support in the child’s own environment, where they are most comfortable and where families often need additional support."
EO
