A group of UAE-based innovators has developed a groundbreaking AI-powered teddy bear designed to support neurodivergent children in expressing their thoughts and emotions. Named OnKaru, the smart toy may appear like any other cuddly companion, but inside, it houses advanced artificial intelligence capable of understanding speech, responding to children, and detecting their emotional cues.
The concept was born from a deeply personal place. Fatemeh Jahedpari, an AI specialist and mother, came up with the idea after struggling to connect with her introverted daughter. “I wanted to make something for my child, because she is too introverted and I knew that there are some issues in her head that she's not sharing with me. So, I couldn't find someone trustful that can intermediate between me and her,” said Jahedpari.
She shared the idea with fellow educator Nafiseh Gharavi, and together they expanded it into a tool for all children with varying neurological needs. The result is OnKaru--a soft, engaging teddy bear embedded with AI technology aimed at helping children, especially those with neurodivergent traits such as autism, ADHD, ADD, and dyslexia, feel more at ease expressing themselves.
The team plans to unveil OnKaru to the public at the upcoming Expand North Star tech startup event in Dubai, from October 12 to 15, 2025.
How OnKaru work
The teddy bear is physical, fitted with an AI-powered device that reads the child’s emotions and reacts to them. Whatever information is garnered from the AI is then stored in a cloud, which gets sent to the parents via an app.
For parents, the bear could act as a bridge when children struggle to communicate. For example, if a child repeatedly expresses sadness or anxiety to the teddy, the system alerts parents discreetly, allowing them to intervene early.
Safe AI for children
“Children want to have access to AI, and you cannot stop them. But it's not safe to let them to know everything. With this toy, children have access, but the responses will be filtered based on their age,” Gharavi explained.
Jahedpari is a specialist in AI, having acquired her PhD in computer science from the University of Bath, England, with a specialisation in AI. She worked on the project on and off since 2023 but decided to drop everything else and focus her attention on it.
Source: Khaleej Times
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
