Firstly, Aino introduced Robostudio, how it was created and what we do there, setting the stage for an exciting exploration. Then Apa introduced the all-knowing, all-intelligent, and slightly sassy Furhat. Through Furhat, the students had a chance to chat with Albert Einstein himself! Of course, we had to test his mathematical genius. When asked, “What is the square root of 1400?” he responded with, “It is approximately 37.4165738677.” Now, while that answer is mathematically correct, the fact that Einstein used approximately when listing out so many decimal places made all the future math teachers chuckle. Because, let’s be honest, in mathematics, approximately usually doesn’t involve ten decimals.
Next up, Chia presented Spot’s impressive moves, showing off its agility and flexibility. But beyond the cool tricks, we also demonstrated Spot’s safety sensors, proving that it won’t just walk into objects like a clumsy human. Instead, it either stops or cleverly navigates around obstacles, unlike some of us who hit our toes on table legs at least twice a week. The students were a bit shy at first when it came to interacting with Spot, but their teacher wasn’t! With a newfound sense of robotic adventure, the teacher took control and led Spot on a short stroll around the hall. It’s always fun watching a human get just as excited about a robot dog as a child seeing a real puppy for the first time!
Finally, it was time to unveil our latest addition to the Robostudio: Reachy! Veronika took the lead on this one, introducing our humanoid robot, which can be teleoperated through VR glasses and controllers. The students observed as she demonstrated Reachy’s capabilities. At first, they were hesitant. “Who wants to give it a try?” when asked, met with a room full of shuffled feet and nervous glances. But finally, one brave soul stepped forward. With initial skepticism, the student put on the VR gear, grabbed the controllers, and started controlling Reachy. And just like that, skepticism turned into pure joy! By the end of the session, the student was moving Reachy around like a natural, completely immersed in the experience. That’s the magic of hands-on interaction; once you try it, you get hooked.
All in all, the math students had a blast exploring Robostudio, meeting our robots, and getting a taste of the future of human-robot interaction. Whether it was laughing at Einstein’s overly precise approximation, walking a robot dog, or stepping into the world of teleoperation, these students left with more than just new knowledge, they left with stories to tell.
And who knows? Maybe one day, some of them will be the ones designing the next generation of robots. Until then, we’ll keep introducing minds to the wonders of robotics; one visit at a time. Robostudio is getting plenty of visitors every month. We will next get high school students for two robot literacy workshops. Stay tuned!
Written by Veronika Žigraiová
