Researchers over at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne have presented a new teaching robot dubbed CoWriter that lends a hand at teaching by playing the role of a learning companion.
Presented at the “Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI)”, the primary goal of CoWriter according to Severin Lemaignan from EPFL “is to provide a tool for teachers that is given a new role in the classroom, that of a student who knows even less than the slowest student in the class.”
Scientists developed progressive writing algorithms and implemented them on an existing robot model – a 58 cm tall humanoid, designed to be likeable and interact with humans. It is also possible to programme the robot so that it addresses the particular difficulties of a student.
With these algorithms, the machine can clumsily draw words on demand, and then gradually improve. The robot does it by using a vast database of handwriting examples, which allows it to reproduce common errors made by young children while learning.
It is also possible to program the robot so that it addresses the particular difficulties of a student, for example, by drawing a P that is barely readable and improving its form over time.
The robot is still in its prototype stage; however, it has already been tested in primary school lessons with about seventy students ranging from six to eight years old, and then individually with a six year old child for one hour per week over the course of one month. So far the system has been very well received.
