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"A teacher might think that because a child confuses the letter D and B, which are basically shaped the same in opposite directions, that they're not learning," Melanie Johnson, CEO of Collaborative for Children, tells InnovationMap.
"And the robot will have no prior knowledge in terms of, is this child the better child, or have they been learning throughout the year? The answers are accurate or inaccurate."
That's why Johnson's Houston-based nonprofit has been using cutting-edge technology to help kids from as young as 18 months old learn.
The Collaborative has been using cutting-edge technology to help kids from low-income and marginalized communities learn in ways that a teacher might not be able to, such as using artificial intelligence to gauge a child's level of skills while they're playing.
The technology also helps kids on the autism spectrum, because they're "emotionally sensitive and emotionally intelligent," Johnson says.
The Collaborative has been using technology such as the Pepper, the world's first social humanoid robot able to recognize faces and basic human emotions, and the NAO, which resembles human beings and stimulates, to enhance learning in its Centers of Excellence.
Johnson says the NAO is great for kids on the autism spectrum because they
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A customized collection of grant news from foundations and the federal government from around the Web.
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