COVID-19 changed daily life for people all over the world. While we’re finding new ways to adjust — remote work, digital date nights, grocery delivery services, and getting comfortable wearing masks when we step foot out the door — there are some things that aren’t as easy to work around. How can children socialize during a time when social distancing is the norm? Maybe robots — specifically social robots — are the answer.
Children need social interaction
Social interaction is essential for children. Being around other children, as well as adults who aren’t mom and dad, is important for the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. However, with social distancing recommendations and directives in place, many opportunities for children to engage with others are gone.
Schools closed early this year and childcare may not be an option. Playgrounds are still closed across the country. Youth team sports have been cancelled, delayed, or postponed. Missing out on a few months of social interaction can hinder a child’s development, especially during their formative years.
Social robots could help promote healthy social, emotional, and cognitive development in children.
Social robots to the rescue
A robotics startup called Embodied recently unveiled their social robot named Moxie. It’s designed for children around the ages of six to nine. Moxie takes the place of a human playmate and assists with a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development through play.
The company designed the robot to encourage mindfulness, creativity, discovery, and exploration. Unlike an application or software that simply uses a screen, Moxie focuses on interaction that simulates social interaction with another person.
Moxie is surprisingly affordable, too. You can currently reserve your own social robot for $50.
Robots take care of us — if you take care of them.
Maybe during this time when simply being in close proximity with other humans presents a risk, social robots can help keep us safe and serve children in need of social-emotional learning.
We often look to robots to solve our problems and improve our lives. We get robots to lift heavy loads and perform repetitive motions to save us from back-breaking manual labor. When poor air quality, hazardous chemicals, or extreme environments present a risk for human workers, we have robots to fill the gap. We even automate our bill paying to save us from the inconvenience of remembering to put a check in the mail.
Your factory robots assist you every day. Let us help make sure that they keep running the way that they’re supposed to run. Call 479-422-0390 for maintenance, service, or repair for Indramat motion control systems.