Robot teachers invade Chinese kindergartens
Robot teachers invade Chinese kindergartens
29 August 2018
BEIJING (AFP) - The Chinese kindergarten children giggled
as they worked to solve puzzles assigned by their new teaching assistant: a
roundish, short educator with a screen for a face.
Just under 60 centimetres (two feet) high, the autonomous
robot named Keeko has been a hit in several kindergartens, telling stories and
challenging children with logic problems.
Round and white with a tubby body, the armless robot zips
around on tiny wheels, its inbuilt cameras doubling up both as navigational
sensors and a front-facing camera allowing users to record video journals.
In China, robots are being developed to deliver
groceries, provide companionship to the elderly, dispense legal advice and now,
as Keeko's creators hope, join the ranks of educators.
At the Yiswind Institute of Multicultural Education on
the outskirts of Beijing, the children have been tasked to help a prince find
his way through a desert -- by putting together square mats that represent a
path taken by the robot -- part storytelling and part problem-solving.
Each time they get an answer right, the device reacts
with delight, its face flashing heart-shaped eyes.
"Education today is no longer a one-way street,
where the teacher teaches and students just learn," said Candy Xiong, a
teacher trained in early childhood education who now works with Keeko Robot
Xiamen Technology as a trainer.
"When children see Keeko with its round head and
body, it looks adorable and children love it. So when they see Keeko, they
almost instantly take to it," she added.
Keeko robots have entered more than 600 kindergartens
across the country with its makers hoping to expand into Greater China and
Southeast Asia.
Beijing has invested money and manpower in developing
artificial intelligence as part of its "Made in China 2025" plan,
with a Chinese firm last year unveiling the country's first human-like robot
that can hold simple conversations and make facial expressions.
According to the International Federation of Robots,
China has the world's top industrial robot stock, with some 340,000 units in
factories across the country engaged in manufacturing and the automotive industry.
The service robot market -- which includes devices
ranging from specialised medical equipment to automated vacuum cleaners - is
estimated to be worth $1.32 billion last year.
It is expected to grow to $4.9 billion by 2022, said
market research firm Research In China.
Last week, Beijing hosted the World Robot Conference,
featuring machines that can diagnose diseases, play badminton and wow audiences
with their musical skills.
- Robocompanion -
Last year, a group of monks in Beijing created a two-foot-high
robot monk dispensing mantras and advice to attaining nirvana.
The iPal -- a companion of sorts for children -- is the
latest humanoid robot to be marketed for family use, following in the footsteps
of the diminutive, wisecracking "Pepper" companion released by
Japan's SoftBank in 2015.
But Xie Yi, principal of the kindergarten where Keeko has
been put on trial, believes that it will be a long while before robots can
completely replace humans in the classroom.
"To teach you must be able to interact, have a human
touch, eye contact and facial expressions. These are the things that make an
education," Xie said.
"It's not just the language or the content, it's
everything."
She said the Keeko robots, which cost about 10,000 yuan
($1,500), or about the monthly salary of a kindergarten teacher, may have some
advantages over a flesh-and-blood educator.
"The best thing about robots? They're more stable
(than humans)," she said with a laugh.
© 2018 AFP
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