At first glance, it is just a small box with a screen, barely 25 centimeters high. It has no arms or legs, but rolls in any direction on wheels. “It looks like an Alexa with a face that can move,” says Dr. Santiago Berrezueta, a research associate at the TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology at Campus Heilbronn, describing the robot he developed.
It may still sound like science fiction, but in Berrezueta's native Ecuador and in Spain, robots named “TAP” and “Violet” are already being used in some clinics and kindergartens, as well as in homes. They assist therapists in ADHD occupational therapies and teachers in English lessons in preschools. “The robot is designed to support teachers and enable even more interactive lessons,” says the young scientist.
More Empathy Thanks to AI
The integration of large language models (LLMs) was a milestone. “We no longer have to create the dialogues for the robots from scratch,” explains Berrezueta. “ChatGPT and other LLMs help us make the conversations more natural and human. This allows the dialogues to be flexibly adapted to the age, needs, and situation of the children, avoiding boredom.”
Another advantage is that the robots can recognize a child's emotions via a camera with facial recognition and respond to them individually. This pays off particularly in another field of application: integrated into a smart home environment, the digital assistants help children with ADHD with their homework and help them relax better. They only need to be placed on the desk and then immediately recognize whether a child is concentrating on their work. If they drift off into daydreams or get distracted, the robots bring back the attention of the child with something like, “We have to do our homework first. Then you can go outside and play.” Thanks to the smart assistants, some of the children no longer need to take medication. Berrezueta is certain: “Children with ADHD don't need to be cured. They just want to be understood.”
The doctor of systems engineering used the 3D CAD program “Autodesk Inventor” to design the robots and a 3D printer to manufacture them. He made use of the technological equipment at the “Maker Space” in the Heilbronn Science Center “Experimenta” on several occasions, to which he also provided a robot. “For the circuits, I used open hardware that works on the plug-and-play principle. The code and design are available on GitHub, so anyone can create and program their own robot. You just have to adapt the programming interfaces, known as APIs, if you want to use artificial intelligence or create your own algorithm.”
People Remain the Focus
The experience with the electronic assistants has been entirely positive: “Children often perceive the robots as toys at first. But when the toy teaches them something, they remember the content better and for longer – partly because of the surprise effect, but also because robots often attract more attention and motivation than teachers alone.”
Parents have also responded very positively to the new technology; only the teachers were a little skeptical at first. However, the students' enthusiasm was contagious: “Some have reported that when the children know that the robot is always there on Thursdays, for example, they ask about it days in advance.” Berrezueta emphasized one thing to the teachers from the outset: the robots will never be able to replace them, but are only intended to support them. “Traditional teaching and therapy methods will definitely remain in place,” says the scientist.
Despite the amazing capabilities of AI, humans continue to play a central role: “Except when helping children with ADHD with their homework, a teacher or therapist is always present. They monitor the robot to make sure it responds appropriately.” It can always happen that a robot gives wrong answers or bad instructions because the AI's training data is distorted or because it is hallucinating.
With Passion for Greater Inclusion and Joy
Berrezueta sees further potential applications for robots in supporting children in the future: “They could help them develop good habits. For example, washing their hands after playing or brushing their teeth before going to bed. They could also suggest that they exercise or read a book if they spend too much time in front of a screen.”
There are great opportunities, and Berrezueta is enthusiastic: “If we develop the robots with passion and respond precisely to the needs of children, we can turn every learning difficulty into a moment of growth. Every successful therapy session will then be a step toward greater self-confidence and inclusion – and bring even more joy.”