Anyone who has had a long-term illness knows that recovering at home can be boring. This can be especially true for children. They may feel cut off from their friends and classmates. Now, these children may have a high-tech friend to help feel less lonely. That friend is a robot.
The robot is called Avatarl (AV1). It takes their place at school. Through the robot, the children can hear their teachers and friends. They can also take part in classes from wherever they are recovering. And the children's school friends must help. They carry the robot between classes and place the robot in the classroom.
A Norwegian(挪威的) company called “No Isolation”created the robot. There are another two co-founders, Karen Dolva and Marious Aabel. Dolva explains how the robot works. She says from home the child uses an iPad or a phone to start it, control the robot's movements with touch and talk through it. The child can take part in classroom activities. The robot is equipped with speakers, microphones and cameras that make communication easy. So it's the eyes, the ears and the voice of the child at school. Inside AV1 there is a small computer connected to a 4G network.
AV1 is designed to betough. It won't allow water to pass through it and can take a fall from a desk without damage. AV1 is large and looks like a human for a reason. Dolva says it can't be just a tiny camera because the other kids can't pick it up and take it with them. This is important because the robot is supposed to be a friend to the children. Hopefully AV1 will help some children feel less lonely while they were absent from class.
