When a one-foot robot dog rolled into a Rock Springs Elementary School classroom recently, two dozen third-graders hounded its owners with questions.
“Does it have siblings?”
“Do you have to charge it?”
“Do you treat it like your children?”
The talking robot reflects Gwinnett County Public Schools’ increased focus on artificial intelligence. Nationally, teachers and professors are experimenting with AI to bolster learning — not just in the curriculum for students, but as an aide to educators.
At Georgia Tech, a computer science professor developed a virtual teaching assistant that answered students’ questions online to save himself the time. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a group also tested a robot designed to help with classroom activities for students.
“It’s not meant to replace the teacher,” said Chris Kocks, a former technology consultant. He and his wife, Lisa Kocks, an instructional coach at Rock Springs, are field testing the robot dog this semester at the elementary school near Suwanee.
The Kocks first developed the AI Puppy with fall detection software after Chris’ mother repeatedly fell in the middle of the night. The couple co-founded a company called RoboSolucio.
When the coronavirus pandemic forced teachers to simultaneously teach students in person and digitally, they saw a new opportunity to help.
“It’s meant to give them a partner in the classroom, someone they can depend on,” Chris Kocks said.
Credit: BEN@BENGRAY.COM
Credit: BEN@BENGRAY.COM
During class, the robot dog wore a shamrock garland and a sparkly green hat to read a lesson about St. Patrick’s Day. The students listened raptly.
“To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, ask an adult to help you make green Jell-O, green drinks, green cupcakes or green pancakes,” said the robot dog, which delivers scripted lessons in a woman’s voice provided by Google.
“I do like how it works,” said 9-year-old Andreea Schonemann. “It’s basically like a teacher.”
Alisa Bennett, the students’ teacher, watched the lesson from the back of the room.
“It’s a robot, so the kids are already interested and then they’re more prone to pay attention,” Bennett said.
The AI Puppy is a modified and customized Misty II, manufactured by Colorado-based Misty Robotics. The prototype looks like a woman, but the Kocks added floppy ears after seeing research that concluded children and the elderly respond best to robots in the shape of “fuzzy, cuddly pets.”
Rock Springs Principal Allan Gee said his students are learning about design thinking just by watching the field testing process for AI Puppy.
“Sometimes you will fail,” Gee said. “You will fail forward and you will grow from that.”
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