AI robots newest recruits in China’s kindergartens
“Good morning everyone! I am Keeko. Nice to meet you!” In the classroom, an artificial intelligence (AI) robot introduces itself before putting forward a question: “Why are there four different colored garbage bins in our kindergarten?”
Keeko, a humanoid robot standing 45 cm tall and weighing 4.5 kg, has become the newest recruit at Xingguo Kindergarten in Xiamen, east China’s Fujian Province.
With the help of the robot, teacher Yang Huizhen is teaching children about garbage sorting. Before the class started, she worked for several days collecting information and uploading it into Keeko’s “brain.”
“I once thought AI robots would steal the jobs of teachers, but my worry turned out to be unnecessary. They will be good teaching assistants as children are curious about them,” said Yang. Keeko, which is programmed to interact with children aged below seven, can interact with them by playing games, singing, dancing, reading stories, having conversations and even doing mathematics.
In China, robots are not just being used in factories or logistic companies. Now they are being recruited by more kindergartens to help out in school classrooms. Robots like Keeko have been used in four classes at Xingguo Kindergarten. At He & She Angel Kindergarten in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, a robot frequently reminds children of developing good habits.
“We should wash our hands before we have dessert,” it says, as well as “in scorching heat, don’t forget to drink more water.”
“With cute voice and appearance, the robot is easily accepted by children,” teacher Peng Liangjiao said.
“Our workload has been reduced a lot.”
In order to better serve kindergarten teachers and children, robot-developing companies are trying to improve their products.
“Our engineers are co-operating with kindergarten teachers who know what the children really need and how to teach,” said Guo Changchen, CEO of Keeko Robot (Xiamen) Technology Co. Ltd., creator of Keeko.