Baltimore, MD. July 28, 2026—Researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Penn Engineering announcing the development of an advanced artificial intelligence system that measures a child’s ability to imitate simple body movements using ordinary video recordings. The Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation, or CAMI-2DNet, brings researchers one step closer to a scalable, objective method for evaluating imitation which is an important behavioral marker associated with autism.
Children with autism often imitate movements differently than their neurotypical peers, making motor imitation an important marker during developmental evaluations.
Video by René Vidal and Kaleab Kinfu at Penn Engineering
"Motor imitation is a critical building block for social development," said Dr. Stewart H. Mostofsky, director of the Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research at Kennedy Krieger Institute and a study co-author. "Our long-term goal is to better understand individual differences in autism and help inform interventions that address those differences."
Traditionally, measuring motor imitation has required specialized motion-capture systems or painstaking manual analysis by trained experts, limiting where and how often these assessments can be performed.
“By replacing specialized hardware and manual analysis with intelligent computer vision, we can help make objective behavioral assessments more accessible to clinicians and families," said René Vidal, Rachleff University professor, director of the Innovation in Data Engineering and Science Initiative, and senior author of the study.
CAMI-2DNet is not designed to diagnose autism on its own or replace the expertise of clinicians. Instead, it provides an objective measurement that can complement existing evaluations, helping clinicians make more informed decisions and allowing researchers to track changes over time.
"Our hope is that tools like CAMI-2DNet can reduce barriers to timely, high-quality assessments,” said lead author and Ph.D. candidate Kaleab Kinfu.
The study on CAMI-2DNet was published in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.
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About Kennedy Krieger Institute:
Kennedy Krieger Institute, an internationally known, nonprofit organization located in the greater Baltimore/Washington, D.C., region, transforms the lives of nearly 30,000 individuals a year through inpatient and outpatient medical, behavioral health and wellness therapies; home and community services; school-based programs; training and education for professionals; and advocacy. Kennedy Krieger provides a wide range of services for children, adolescents and adults with diseases, disorders and injuries that impact the nervous system, ranging from mild to severe. The Institute is home to a team of investigators who contribute to the understanding of how disorders develop, while at the same time pioneering new interventions and methods of early diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Visit KennedyKrieger.org for more information about Kennedy Krieger.
