Interactive Virtual Environment

Link to article

After reading the article several times, I have come to a quandary.
First of all, I have been trying forever to get a community of autistic children together online, with games they can play against each-other and interact via voice/and/or text with modified content.
Most of the children are lacking in social development, not because they are not out in the community interacting with others, but because most of the time the other children don't know how to talk to or engage a child who is different from themselves.
Even if the child were in a wheelchair, the way another child reacts to them is different.
I have found that most of the time my child doesn't care what another child looks like or acts like, as long as they are willing to play beside or with him, he is okay with that child.
Most Autistic children are not the same. They have different quirks, and abilities. They react differently to their environments.
Yet, here in this article they are suggesting that MAYBE this program will help them socialize at a more appropriate level to their ages.
I have to wonder tho, if this is true, why is it just now that this program is being introduced? How long has it been sitting on a shelf out of reach of society? What are the touch-screen programs they used to base this project on?
True, a program like this used at school could show a teacher insight into the world of the child in question, but who has a 1 on 1 teacher these days? Especially with all the education cuts?
What would this program mean for us as parents? Would it mean that as a parent of a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) would be required to have and Ipad, Ipod touch or Iphone? Would this program be available to Android users? Or what about those of us who use regular laptops?
This raises more questions as I sit and think about it's possibilities. Sure they say it will be shown at a convention this month, but what will it show? It said " demonstration" but will it feature all the qualities it will have as a final, for sale program? Also, what will it cost? Will it be another $200 program that is out of the reach of many of us as parents of an ASD child?