Mr. Robot Teaches Class

The University of Southern California is steadily working on a new project that could change the way our children and grandchildren learn. The RUBI project is an ongoing mission to design robots that can educate people in various subjects.

One successful case has already been presented. A 6 year old child with autism has begun learning from the robot built by the university’s researchers. The autistic child was actively participating in the robot’s teaching session by copying the movements that the machine made.

Another success for the RUBI project was when pre-schoolers improved their scores on tests and learned the material presented to them more easily and readily than with that of a normal, human teacher.

The researchers of the RUBI project claim that the robots will be able to teach better by not allowing emotions to interfere with their job, as our every-day human teachers may. In classrooms, there would be no favorites, only an unbiased learning environment. The scientists do not want to replace the teaching community, however, only to implement a new way to learn for children.

The plan has its flaws, however, as was found out when two of the more rowdy students took the robots arms off – literally. The robots aren’t quite capable of handing this sort of situation at this time, whereas our human teachers are.

The scientists at the University of Southern California plan to continue building this project until they can no longer afford to so with their funding.