韓國機器人老師進課堂 冰雪聰明惹人愛

Pupils often assume their teachers don't really exist outside the school gates, now robot classroom assistants could make this a reality. Almost 30 egg-shaped robots have started teaching English at primary schools in South Korea. The 3.3ft high machines have a TV panel that displays a female Caucasian face and can wheel around the classroom while speaking to the students. The robots are also able to read books and dance to music moving their head and arms.

　古往今來，老師的威嚴形象是往往教育學生的“重要武器”，而與之相反，學生們還是希望老師別出現在課堂上，即使出現也至少表現得輕鬆些。如今一個“蛋形機器人”幫助韓國小朋友的夢想成爲現實。3.3英尺高、擁有一個“人臉”的可愛機器人“走進了”韓國小學生的課堂，“她”在授課中能自如的在教室中“來回踱步”，並“張口”講課。這個老師不僅長相討人喜歡，而且擁有朗誦、跳舞等才藝呢。

But despite appearances the robots, developed the Korea Institute of Science of Technology, are not autonomous beings. They are actually controlled remotely by English teachers living in the Philippines, who can see and hear the children via a remote control system. Cameras then detect the teachers' facial expressions and reflect them on the avatar's face. The robots will teach after-school classes at 21 schools in the south-eastern city of Daegu.'Well-educated, experienced Filipino teachers are far cheaper than their counterparts elsewhere, including South Korea,' Sagong Seong-Dae, a senior scientist at KIST. Apart from reading books, the robots use pre-programmed software to sing songs and play alphabet games with the children.

儘管有着“機器人之身”，但這個“蛋形老師”實際上卻有“血肉之軀”。據悉，這個由韓國科技大學發明的機器人教師並不是100%的自動化機器，實際上，他是由遠在菲律賓的老師遠程操控授課的一個工具而已。據悉，爲了節約教學經費，韓國這所小學“聘請了”菲律賓的老師，老師們在菲律賓遠程遙控機器人，而高科技也準確老師的即時面部表情讓老師對學生的反映“如實的”出現在韓國教室內的機器人的“臉上”。據學生們反映，他們對他們的機器人老師讚賞有加，因爲老師似乎很多才多藝，可以教他們唱歌也可以玩字母拼寫遊戲，與真人老師唯一的不同點就是他一點都不嚴肅。

Education official Kim Mi-Young, said: 'The kids seemed to love it since the robots look, well, cute and interesting. But some adults also expressed interest, saying they may feel less nervous talking to robots than a real person.'She stressed the robots, which cost ?5,600 each, will provide extra support for teachers but not replace them. The four-month pilot programme was sponsored by the government, which invested ?900,000. Mr Seong-Dae added: 'They won't complain about health insurance, sick leave and severance package, or leave in three months for a better-paying job in Japan... all you need is a repair and upgrade every once in a while.'

學校主管說：“學生們更喜歡機器人，因爲長相實在太可愛了。不僅如此，就連家長也喜歡和機器人老師交談，這會讓他們沒那麼緊張。”雖然聘請菲律賓的老師便宜，但是這個機器人本身卻價格不菲，一個機器人能達到每臺5600英鎊，就目前情況而言，他們只是作爲“助教”出現在課堂中。學校負責人向媒體透露了在他們眼中機器人老師的好處，有負責人說：“機器人老師很棒，他們不用請假，也不會要求漲工資，你所做的就只有平時更新他的程序而已，太實惠了！”