SEOUL—Controlled remotely by English teachers in the Philippines, the 29 robots wheeled around the classroom while speaking to the students, reading books to them and dancing to music by moving their head and arms.
About one meter high with a TV display panel for a face, the robots have started teaching English to youngsters at a South Korean city, in a pilot project designed to nurture the nascent robot industry, according to education officials.
The robots display an avatar face of a Caucasian woman and the Filipino teachers can see and hear the children via a remote control system.
Cameras detect the Filipino teachers’ facial expressions and instantly reflect them on the avatar’s face, said Sagong Seong-dae, a senior scientist at the Korea Institute of Science of Technology (KIST).
“Well-educated, experienced Filipino teachers are far cheaper than their counterparts elsewhere, including South Korea,” Sagong told Agence France-Presse.
Kids love them
Engkey, a white, egg-shaped robot developed by KIST, began taking classes on Monday at 21 elementary schools in the southeastern city of Daegu.
Apart from reading books, the robots use preprogrammed software to sing songs and play alphabet games with the children.
“The kids seemed to love it since the robots look, well, cute and interesting. But some adults also expressed interest, saying they may feel less nervous talking to robots than a real person,” said Kim Mi-young, an official at the Daegu city education office.
Kim said some robots may be sent to remote rural areas of South Korea shunned by foreign English teachers.
She said the robots were still being tested. But officials may consider hiring the robots full time if scientists upgrade them and make them easier to handle and more affordable.
Shy ones
“Having robots in the classroom makes the students more active in participating, especially shy ones afraid of speaking out to human teachers,” Kim said.
She stressed the experiment was not about replacing human teachers with robots. “We are helping upgrade a key, strategic industry and all the while giving children more interest in what they learn.”
The four-month pilot program was sponsored by the government, which invested $1.37 million.
Scientists have held pilot programs in schools since 2009 to develop robots to teach English, math, science and other subjects at different levels with a desired price tag of $4,400 to $7,000.
$8,700 each
Sagong stressed that the robots, which currently cost $8,700 each, largely backed up human teachers but would eventually have a bigger role.
The machines can be an efficient tool to hone language skills for many people who feel nervous about conversing with flesh-and-blood foreigners, he said.
“Plus, they won’t complain about health insurance, sick leave and severance package, or leave in three months for a better-paying job in Japan… all you need is a repair and upgrade every once in a while,” Sagong added.
The robots display an avatar face of a Caucasian woman and the Filipino teachers can see and hear the children via a remote control system.
Cameras detect the Filipino teachers’ facial expressions and instantly reflect them on the avatar’s face, said Sagong Seong-dae, a senior scientist at the Korea Institute of Science of Technology (KIST).
“Well-educated, experienced Filipino teachers are far cheaper than their counterparts elsewhere, including South Korea,” Sagong told Agence France-Presse.
Kids love them
Engkey, a white, egg-shaped robot developed by KIST, began taking classes on Monday at 21 elementary schools in the southeastern city of Daegu.
Apart from reading books, the robots use preprogrammed software to sing songs and play alphabet games with the children.
“The kids seemed to love it since the robots look, well, cute and interesting. But some adults also expressed interest, saying they may feel less nervous talking to robots than a real person,” said Kim Mi-young, an official at the Daegu city education office.
Kim said some robots may be sent to remote rural areas of South Korea shunned by foreign English teachers.
She said the robots were still being tested. But officials may consider hiring the robots full time if scientists upgrade them and make them easier to handle and more affordable.
Shy ones
“Having robots in the classroom makes the students more active in participating, especially shy ones afraid of speaking out to human teachers,” Kim said.
She stressed the experiment was not about replacing human teachers with robots. “We are helping upgrade a key, strategic industry and all the while giving children more interest in what they learn.”
The four-month pilot program was sponsored by the government, which invested $1.37 million.
Scientists have held pilot programs in schools since 2009 to develop robots to teach English, math, science and other subjects at different levels with a desired price tag of $4,400 to $7,000.
$8,700 each
Sagong stressed that the robots, which currently cost $8,700 each, largely backed up human teachers but would eventually have a bigger role.
The machines can be an efficient tool to hone language skills for many people who feel nervous about conversing with flesh-and-blood foreigners, he said.
“Plus, they won’t complain about health insurance, sick leave and severance package, or leave in three months for a better-paying job in Japan… all you need is a repair and upgrade every once in a while,” Sagong added.
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