Study finds 'great potential for robots' in education

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Researchers at Waterloo Engineering are successfully using a robot to help keep children with learning disabilities focused on their work.

This was one of the key results in a new study that also found both the youngsters and their instructors valued the positive classroom contributions made by the robot. 

The QT robot.

The QT robot was used to help teach children with learning disabilities.

“There is definitely a great potential for using robots in the public education system,” said Dr. Kerstin Dautenhahn, a professor of electrical and computer engineering. “Overall, the findings imply that the robot has a positive effect on students.”

Dautenhahn, two other Waterloo engineering researchers and three experts from the Learning Disabilities Society in Vancouver, conducted a series of tests with a small humanoid robot called QT.

Go to Robots help children with learning disabilities stay focused for the whole story.