Field trial of android-type remote class support system in elementary school and effect evaluation

Android robots that have a human-like appearance have been developed recently. A one of the purpose of android robots is to realize natural communication between human and robot by implementing human-like behaviors. In human communication, since it is said that facial expressions contribute to face-to-face communication effectively as a non-verbal medium, we have been developing the face robot that has human-like appearance and is able to express various facial expressions like human beings. Moreover we have been developing an android type communication robot SAYA equipped with the face robot. This paper shows an application of the android robot SAYA in educational field as a remote class support system. In this system, android robot SAYA is able to conduct lectures and is able to observe student´s behavior and utterance in a class by tele-operation. Furthermore it can call student´s name, make eye contact and encourage or warn a student with its utterance and facial expressions. We carried out the field trial at elementary schools to verify the effectiveness of this system. As a result, we confirmed the positive effects and possibility in educational applications, particularly in elementary schools. We believe that this system also can be applied to other remote communication systems like a remote diagnosis.