In short, a state-of-the-art humanoid social robot named QRIO was placed in a classroom of toddlers for about five months. Children ranging in age from 18 to 24 months old were chosen for this case study because they have no preconceived notions of robots, and their interactions are less dependent on speech. Initially, the children did not treat the robot the way they treated each other. However, interaction steadily improved as the weeks passed, and by the end of the sessions the children treated the robot as a peer rather than a toy or foreign object. Interaction was strongest when the robot displayed its full behavioral spectrum, while it was weakest when the robot was reprogrammed to behave in a predictable manner.
These results provide somewhat of a futuristic outlook on the autonomous bonding and socialization with humans that can be achieved with robot technology. With this in mind, robots could have the potential to be beneficial for early education systems, helping teachers and providing enrichment and stimulation for the classroom environment.
(Children dancing with QRIO)
