A small robot may help children who are ill in hospital or at home. These children may feel lonely without their friends or classmates. The robot takes their places at school. Through the robot, the children can hear their teachers and friends.
The robot is called AV1. A Norwegian company called No Isolation created the robot. Dolva explains how the robot AV1 works. She says from home, children use a tablet or phone to start the robot. Then they use the same device to control the robot's movements. At school, the robot becomes their eyes, ears and voice.
"So, it sits at the child's desk in the classroom and the child uses a tablet or a phone to start it and control its movements and talks through it. So it's the eyes, the ears and the voice at school." The robotis equipped with speakers, microphones and cameras that make communication easy.
AV1 is large and looks like a human for a reason. Dolva says this is important because the robot is supposed to be a friend of the children. "It can't be just a tiny camera because the other kids can't pick it up and take it with them. This is supposed to be their friend." And robots are, quite simply, cool. Hopefully AV1 will help some children feel less lonely while they are not in class.
