7 year old Joshua Martinangelli is too sick to go to school. But the German student can still interact with his teacher and classmates via an avatar robot that sits in his place in the classroom and sends a blinking signal when he wants to say something.
Ute Winterberg, headmistress of the Pusteblum-Grundschule in Berlin, told Reuters in an interview: “The kids talk to her, laugh with her and sometimes even chitchat with her during lessons. Joshi can do it very well.” Huh.”
Joshua can’t attend classes because he has a tube in his neck because of a serious lung disease, his mother Simone Martinezelli said.
The project is a private initiative paid for by the local council in Marzan-Hellersdorf in the Berlin district.
District Education Councilor Torsten Kuehne said, “We are the only district in Berlin to have bought four avatars for our schools. The inspiration was COVID-19, but I think this will be the future beyond the pandemic.”
“From time to time it happens for a variety of reasons that a child cannot attend class in person. Then Avatar can give that child a chance to remain part of the school community,” Kuhen said.
He said that he has already taken up the project in the political discussion at the state level.
“I like it either way because I love Avatar,” said student Noah Kusner as he looked forward to seeing Joshua again.
Another classmate, Baritan Aslanglu, said, “And I’d love to see Joshi actually come to school.”
© Thomson Reuters 2022
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