Using telepresence robots a hospitalized child can now participate in the classroom. The system, developed by Telbotics Inc., Ryerson U., and the University of Toronto, use two robots, one in the hospital room and one in the classroom, to allow the child to be involved in his class. The child can view and hear the teacher, zoom in to look at things, and raise a robotic hand to signal he has a question. Both robots are also equipped with a scanner and printer for sending papers from classroom to child.

You can find out more about the robots and the research program, PEBBLES, on Telbotics’ website.