Buddy & The national Education MINISTRY

TED-I Program

Never without my class: 1750 Buddy robots in schools

Continuing your education, even while hospitalized, and keeping in touch with your class is now possible thanks to Buddy, the avatar for sick children.From his hospital room, Buddy allows the sick student to interact with his class by emitting signs of interactivity (moods, messages, requests to speak, etc.), to move around the classroom or even follow his friends during recess, in the canteen or on school trips.Buddy is not only a simple tele-education device for sick children. The cute little robot on wheels with its big eyes allows to create social link through its emotional companion aspect, to be accepted as a real class friend. Indeed, the empathetic side of Buddy constitutes a more convincing incarnation than a classic videoconferencing solution, and allows a stronger physical presence of the homebound student. When we know that socialization promotes children’s chances of recovery, Buddy therefore appears like a real superhero. Integration is not only educational but also social.Mainly intended for primary school students aged 5 to 11, Buddy robots allow students to be “tele-present” remotely.

“Not only the students participate in all teaching activities, but they can interact with their environment. Tele-presence robots allow them to move, exchange and register their presence within establishments, which they continue to occupy “physically” "

Jean-Michel Blanquer, former National Education Minister

TED-i : A unique educational inclusion project in the world

The Ministry of National Education launched this national TED-i program, providing for an initial allocation of 4,000 robotic telepresence systems, intended to be allocated to children and young people, from kindergarten to university, who are prevented by the illness, hospitalized or kept in chronic home care.

Each year, nearly 12,000 students per year are hospitalized for long periods. For these students, the continuity of their school career must be ensured whatever their situation if their hospitalization conditions allow it.

Educational support at home at the hospital or at school (APADHE) is put in place, aiming to maintain educational continuity. In addition and in order to ensure social continuity, namely the human connection with the student’s teachers and classmates, the Ministry of National Education provides tele-presence robots to educational establishments ranging from the start of the primary cycle to university for young children, young adolescents and adults who are seriously ill and for long periods of time, to allow them to continue learning while preserving the link with the school or establishment original.

TED-i aims to mitigate the consequences of the break with the school or training environment of isolated young people, and to facilitate their return to class, both for learning and for the pursuit of real inclusion and socialization.

" We are looking at maintaining the educational link, almost emotional, with the classmates. And this will help the student in his disease pathway. The effects are tangible. As soon as the parents see that, it also gives them a little hope».

Christophe CARON - TED-i Project Director