VIDEO: Robot AV1 helps sick children feel less isolated

For children battling long-term illnesses, physical pain is not their only challenge – absence from school also means absence from friends, which can be difficult, and at the same time, parents often worry about the impact that months of missing classes will have on their education. This is where the school robot named AV1 comes in. Its task in the classroom is to function as the eyes, ears, and voice of children with long-term illnesses who cannot go to school but can control the robot from their hospital bed.

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The robot has enabled Elliot Smith to stay in touch with friends and follow school lessons. The boy controls the robot using a laptop and can listen to lessons and speak. If he wants to ask the teacher a question, he lights up the robot’s head to draw his attention.

– I was a bit worried about what the other students would think of the robot. They were really surprised by it, says the 12-year-old who uses AV1 while recovering from a brain tumor.

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Schools can rent the robot or buy it for about 2,500 euros. Smith’s AV1, which other students named Bob, was funded through donations and other fundraising efforts.

The robot looks like a garden gnome that has undergone a minimalist design process at the tech giant Apple. It was created by the Norwegian organization No Isolation, which was founded to combat the problem of loneliness. Across Europe, 370 young people aged eight to 20 use AV1, with the highest numbers in Scandinavia.

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The founder of No Isolation, 27-year-old Karen Dolva, who studied computer science, started No Isolation after a friend who worked as a nurse in a children’s ward described it as very depressing. After studying the problem, Dolva met with Anne Fi Troye, whose teenager died of cancer. Troye shared her experiences with Dolva and the devastating effects of loneliness on children recovering at home.

– They are locked away and forgotten, and when they get better, they are pushed into the world, and everyone assumes they will now be happy because they have recovered, Dolva told Reuters.

Scientists from the British cancer charity CLIC Sargent found that nearly half of parents of children with cancer who attended primary school said that the diagnosis and treatment resulted in their child being distanced from peers.

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After establishing connections with charities and healthcare workers in Britain, Dolva’s organization concluded that 70,000 British children spend a large part of the school year at home or in the hospital due to illness. The goal of No Isolation was to put technology to work for sick children.

– We would never have started No Isolation if we couldn’t help someone. That was one thing we were completely sure of when we started, she said.

More than one in ten people in Britain feel lonely, and research links loneliness to dementia, earlier death, and high blood pressure.

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Months of chemotherapy for Elliot Smith from Yeovil in the southwest of England meant he was too weak to attend classes. His weight had nearly halved, and he could barely eat. His father says the robot made a significant change because his son could see and hear the teacher and participate when he felt strong enough, which reduced his anxiety about missing classes.

– That device was crucial in the first steps of his integration into the school program, said Bill Smith.

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Another concern was that he was losing contact with friends while also being aware of his new appearance.

– His hair is just starting to grow. Whenever we went somewhere with Elliot before, he didn’t want to take off his hat. He is very aware of his appearance, so this helped him not to have to be physically there, adds Smith.

The boy said he is not sure how much Bob helps him learn because what he can hear varies from the noise in the classroom and the proximity of the robot to the wireless router.

So what does he see as the main benefit of the robot? – Seeing his friends, Elliot replies.