Tech Chronic school absenteeism: telepresence robots tested in Kumamoto

Equipped with a camera, speaker, microphone and touchscreen, the robot can be controlled by a child from home through a smartphone app. The child's image will appear on the screen atop the 1-meter-tall wheeled robot, allowing the physically absent child to interact with other students in the classroom. "I hope seeing friends on the screen makes students with attendance issues want to stay engaged," said head teacher Hideomi Nishikawa. Honjo Elementary School has a special online learning program for students who experience long-term absences. Funded by a government subsidy, the municipality has deployed two Temi robots, one in Honjo Elementary School and the other in a junior high school, for a student who can't fully attend classes due to illness.

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