The robot helping sick children attend school

Communities across Europe are increasingly employing the services of AV1, a high-tech robot developed by Norwegian firm No Isolation to help students with high absence rates keep up with their studies.

How it works: Essentially, AV1 is attempting to mimic what would happen if WALL-E was paired up with a student who’s forced to miss an extended amount of school (due to a medical condition or otherwise).

Once AV1 is placed on a desk with an ample view of the teacher, the student can remotely control the robot to see a live feed of the class, speak to their classmates/teacher in real time, raise their “hand” to participate in discussions, and even change the robot’s expression – all without leaving the home or hospital.

• On top of keeping up with their studies, No Isolation says its AV1 robot also helps students maintain social bonds while away from school.
• There are currently 3,000 active AV1 units across 17 countries, with the robots mostly located in the UK and Germany.

👀 Zoom out: In recent years, robots have become a growing part of humans’ everyday lives – a trend that appears to be accelerating. Recent advances include high-tech medical robots that can perform surgeries with less room for error, new robot-powered Amazon delivery warehouses, and an increasing number of robotaxis on America’s roads.