FILE PHOTO – A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
SEOUL — A toy-like robot with scowling blue eyes and a North Korean flag across its chest roams around a classroom at a university in Pyongyang in a recent demonstration of tools aimed at helping children learn basic maths, music, and English.
The footage, broadcast by North Korean state television KRT, also showed two other larger plastic robots, each with a vaguely humanoid appearance.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been pushing for education reform in recent years by spurring technological and scientific innovation.
“I help teach educational technology that enhances children’s intelligence,” said the 80-centimeter (31.5 inches) tall robot in a female voice, waving its arms.
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY
A second robot featured a smiley face on a screen embedded inside a white round head, while another wore a blue plastic suit and white-rimmed glasses, the KRT footage showed.
Park Kum Hee, a professor at a university in Pyongyang, told KRT that the development of the educational robots had its challenges initially, with the robots often shaking their heads when asked questions in both Korean and foreign languages.
