Your teacher wishes you Merry Christmas.
Lots of kisses.
Saya, a humanoid robot is
touched by school pupils as she takes on a role as a school teacher at an
elementary school in Tokyo Photo:
REUTERS
Saya, the female humanoid robot, taught a science and technology lesson to a
class of 10-year-old pupils at Kudan Elementary School in Tokyo.
With her neat brown hair, pink lipstick and skirt suit, the robot, created by
scientists at Tokyo University of Science, has been designed to resemble as
human a form as possible.
Using a range of programmed movements from eyebrow arching to smiling, her
face is capable of expressing six basic emotions in the classroom – surprise,
fear, disgust, anger, happiness and sadness.
While Saya's creator Professor Hiroshi Kobayashi said the robot's main
purpose was to highlight the joys of technology to children, he also said it
would benefit schools suffering from a shortage of human teachers.
"In the countryside and in some small schools, there are children who do not
have the opportunity to come into contact with new technology and also there are
few teachers out there that can teach these lessons," said Professor
Kobayashi.
"So we hope to be able to develop this robot so it can be remotely controlled
to teach these classes."
Saya was initially created to work as a receptionist in Japanese companies five years ago but was recently reprogrammed by scientists into its latest incarnation as a schoolteacher.
Saya was initially created to work as a receptionist in Japanese companies five years ago but was recently reprogrammed by scientists into its latest incarnation as a schoolteacher.
FROM : THE TELEGRAPH
