AV1 Robot Keeps Sick Children Connected to Their Classrooms 

Norwegian Company No Isolation has created the AV1 robot, designed to help chronically ill children attend their classes remotely, via a 360-degree camera, microphone, and speaker, allowing students to interact with their teachers and classmates from home.  

AV1 robots are designed with user-friendliness in mind, featuring a small, human-like figure with a head and torso that can rotate 360 degrees. Equipped with a camera, microphone, and speaker, the AV1 robot education experience is designed to facilitate interaction and engagement without the need to be in a classroom.  

Students can control it remotely via an app and listen, speak, and even raise their hand during class. 

Controlled through an app, the students “can swipe their finger to change where the robot is looking,” explains Florence Salisbury, marketing director at the robotic company, highlighting the interactive experience of the robot, further emphasizing the company’s vision through the AV1 robot no isolation experience.  

The AV1 robot application includes social media-like features such as emojis that appear in the robots’ eyes presenting to the student’s classmates his or her emptions in real-time, as if child is attending school in person. 

Socially and Educationally Connected 

The main advantage of the AV1 robot is not purely academic, but rather social. Long-term sickness takes away the interaction of children with their friends and classmates. Therefore, the role of AV1 is to maintain these important links.  

Salisbury shared an example of a 15-year-old boy in England who uses AV1. His friends even take the robot with them to lunch so that he can still feel included in their conversations. 

For children who must stay out of school for months on end due to illness or mental health issues, keeping these ties becomes essential because they make a huge difference.  

“It becomes a lifeline for students, especially those dealing with medical conditions,” says Salisbury. 

According to recent numbers shared by the government, more than 19% of students in England were not able to attend school in the autumn of 2023-2024 due primarily to illness. 

Technical and Administrative Challenges 

Although the AV1 robot had received positive feedback from both parents and teachers, it has some technical and administrative challenges. Bad Wi-Fi connections or mobile network coverage is a main challenge, as it affects the robot’s performance. In addition to that, there are sometimes 

However, No Isolation is working on these issues. Last year, it launched the AV1 Academy, an online training platform with all the training materials that might help teachers and schools learn how to work with the robot. 

Despite these challenges, the UK’s Chartwell Cancer Trust provides 25 AV1 robots to children suffering from serious or chronic illnesses. In an interview with CNN, founding trustee Micheal Douglas, stated that these robots allow children to proceed with their education, even when they are in the intensive care. 

“They are loved by the parents and make a real difference,” Douglas explained. “They make the child feel important.” 

A Robust Privacy Protection 

With every new advancement in technology, privacy remains a major concern. In this regard Salisbury assured that AV1 robot has a strong privacy protection, as it does not gather any personal data and does not allow anyone to record or take screenshots from the app. Additionally, the livestream is encrypted, and the robot could be connected to only one device. 

In June, research published in Frontiers in Digital Health, aiming to assess the use of AV1 in countries such as Germany and Japan, showed that these technologies have high potential to keep sick children socially and educationally connected. 

No Isolation’s AV1 robot is available for both rental and purchase. Renting an AV1 robot costs around €179 per month, including hardware and service support. As for purchasing, the AV1 price is an outright cost of approximate €4,993. 

It is worth mentioning that both options require a service package for maintenance, which stands at about €894 per year. 

Inside Telecom provides you with an extensive list of content covering all aspects of the tech industry. Keep an eye on our Tech sections to stay informed and up-to-date with our daily articles.