A faculty in Japan is popping to robots in a bid to deal with rising truancy charges.
The college in Kumamoto, southwest Japan, will permit absent college students to regulate telepresence robots within the classroom. Officers behind the initiative hope the setup will ultimately encourage the scholars to return to high school, the Mainichi newspaper reported.
Beginning within the subsequent couple of months, two robots will likely be used for the pilot program, with each sporting microphones, audio system, cameras, and a pill to allow two-way communication. The one-meter-tall robotic will likely be managed by way of a pc by the scholar at dwelling.
With its connected wheels, the robots will even be capable to transfer across the faculty, although admittedly they could want a hand in the case of navigating difficult obstacles equivalent to stairs.
Kumamoto, in addition to different elements of Japan, has been seeing rising absenteeism at faculties for the final 4 years, with a few of it attributed to psychological and bodily points that emerged throughout the pandemic.
Latest efforts by the town to enhance the scenario have included streaming courses to college students at dwelling in a digital classroom setting. Whereas the system has reportedly helped to scale back the nervousness of scholars reluctant to attend courses in individual, it’s hoped that the telepresence robots will assist to extend interplay between college students at dwelling and people within the classroom to make the expertise really feel extra pure and assist construct confidence for a possible return to high school.
“Except for letting them view the courses, the robots permit college students to maneuver freely in house and talk with others at their very own will,” an training board official advised the Mainichi newspaper. “Hopefully, this may also help decrease the psychological hurdles for truant college students.”
The trial is predicted to final till March, and may give officers sufficient information to see if the system is price rolling out extra broadly.
Whereas telepresence robots have been round for a while, they’re but to take off in a giant method. However that hasn’t stopped main corporations like Honda exploring the know-how and arising with a design of its personal.
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