A few years ago, it was almost unbelievable that robots could ever perform many of the tasks that only humans could perform. In majority of the industries that adopted automation, only 10% of the tasks was left out to the robots while humans took on the next 90%. With the introduction of collaborative robots in the market, the trend is changing. There are now more cobots working alongside humans and producing much more than the companies produced before. The education sector is slowly catching up with the use of collaborative robots to assist in teaching.
One of the most comprehensive robotics education centres opened in Ohio recently. Ramtec Centre is a school that trains students the usefulness of collaborative robots or cobots from Universal Robots. The school opened after an influx of cobot usage in local companies. People needed to know how to work better with cobots as opposed to the old fashioned industrial robots.
Universal Robots is a leader in the supply of assistance robotic tutors in universities and high schools in many parts of the world. Cobots can now grade assignments and undertake research requirements needed by the students to pass their final exams. In china and India for instance, the education sector is booming. In a couple of years, it will be impossible to attend to the large number of students with the use of human workforce and outdated artificial intelligence devices alone. The universities will require a more intensive method to make significant strides in the sector. Some of the places that will benefit with the use of cobots in the education sector are
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Student recruitment
With more foreign students attending universities in different parts of the world, recruitment is a hassle. Going through the applications is challenging, costly and time wasting. By using cobots to help with matching the applications to the right universities, then this problem will go down tremendously.
Reduction learning materials
Some subjects like engineering and business management have the same materials taught in every university. Universities need many people to handle the paperwork and the classes. This may prevent them from exploring other avenues of easing up the work or developing new ideas. Cobots can be programmed to take over the teaching as lecture assistants while the lecturers work on other developments or other topics.
Students and teachers Stand-ins
Sometimes students with certain illnesses may miss some lessons or fail to attend their regular lessons due to some complications. With the help of cobots, this problem is easy to solve as they can stand in for the students and take notes. By using remote controls to programme the cobots, the students can follow the lecture proceedings from anywhere. The same cobots can also stand in for teachers and lecturers when they have other duties to attend to. This also means the teachers can deliver their lectures and teachings from anywhere and to anyone with the use telepresence cobots.
Helping special kids to fit in
Children with special needs like autism find it very hard to fit in. using collaborative robots can help these students to enhance their social skills. These robots are interactive and engaging. They also do not tire out and unlike humans, they are patient. They help the students to cope better by reducing anxiety and continuously encouraging them to fit in.
Increase passion for learning
Introducing robots in schools turns learning into fun. Involving the students with programming the cobots will excite them more than seeing the same human face repeatedly. It is very unlikely that students would tire from seeing a cobot guiding them than they would if there was a teacher in front of them daily. The cobots are also excellent education tools as the students develop a liking for technology and learn more hands-on activities.
Conclusion
Robotics and cobots in classrooms enhance the students cognitive progress and goal-oriented activities. It is never too early to introduce artificial intelligence to children in schools because the economy is changing fast and in the next few years, everything will use robotics to move forward. Universal Robots is in the forefront of making sure that schools embrace robotics in education by raising robot literacy in the education sector.