United Arab Emirates: Robots to Teach in Abu Dhabi Classrooms

Merryland International School located in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, is set to launch the first robotic lab in a UAE school, reported Gulf News.

Susheela George, the school founder, has reportedly spent approximately £80,000 (half million UAE Dirhams) in sourcing 30 robots, including humanoids, and setting up the robotics lab.

"I have sourced out some of the best and most advanced robots including humanoids, quadrupeds, hexapods, flying robots and pet robots from all over the world. Our aim is to mould future scientists, designers, engineers and leaders," said George.

The humanoid AISOY Raspberry Pi robot is reportedly set to teach basic Mathematics, while Nao, a 57-cm tall Evolution Humanoid robot from France will be assisting children with special needs.

Programmable robot, Nao, can reportedly walk, talk and detect emotions.

"The course will start in full swing next year after the teachers have completed their training from Pittsburgh University in the US," noted Susheela.

The robotic lab was inaugurated on 22 August in Abu Dhabi by the Director General of European Business Assembly (EBA), Dr. John Netting from Oxford, as well as Dr. Martin Moore-Ede and Dr. Donna Martin from the Harvard University.

"We plan to go a long way in making robotics science a subject of study for our students. Children can learn from scratch the science of assembling a robot. At an advanced level, high school students will be taught how to programme robots with built-in intelligence," said the Head of Merryland's Information Communication Technology Department, George Fernandes.