Humanoid Robots Are Coming to New York City Schools
TECHNOLOGY, July 21 | ORIENT. New York state schools are taking a step toward futuristic education. This fall, Salamanca High School (a small county seat in western New York) will welcome the region's first humanoid android, named Sally, developed by the Las Vegas-based company Realbotix.
The $57,000 android is designed to serve as a visual aid and interactive assistant in programming, robotics, and artificial intelligence classes.
Sally has a hyper-realistic appearance, silicone skin, and flexible facial expressions. The robot sits at a desk, gestures, and recognizes students by their personal ID code, instantly recalling the topic of the previous lesson. The developers also programmed her voice module with a distinctive Western New York accent to make communication with children more natural.
The introduction of the humanoid has already sparked a heated debate in the US educational community. Despite the device's cost being lower than the average annual salary of a local teacher, district administration emphasizes that robots will never replace humans. Sally serves solely as a support tool, helping high school students gain a hands-on understanding of neural network interactivity and the mechanics of modern androids.
