Noura Alhakbani
Papers
5
Total Citations
168
H-Index
5
About
Dr. Noura Alhakbani is a leading researcher at the intersection of robotics, artificial intelligence, and therapeutic intervention for neurodevelopmental disorders. Her work focuses on leveraging human-robot interaction to improve social, cognitive, and educational outcomes for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Her most impactful contribution is a highly cited systematic review on robot-assisted therapy for children with autism (104 citations), which established a foundational framework for understanding how interactive robots can engage children in therapeutic settings. Building on this, she has pioneered methods for measuring engagement during therapy, including a novel approach using facial emotion recognition and AI to detect a child’s attentional state. Her research also demonstrates practical applications, such as using the NAO robot combined with human action recognition to improve imitation skills—a core deficit in ASD. With a growing body of work that bridges engineering, psychology, and education, Dr. Alhakbani is shaping the future of accessible, technology-driven interventions for special needs education.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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- 3Measuring Engagement in Robot-Assisted Therapy for Autistic Children15 citations · 2023
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