S Korea to use English-teaching robots at local schools

SEOUL: South Korea's Ministry of Knowledge Economy said yesterday that English-teaching robots will be used at local schools in the country.

The ministry said robots with English-teaching abilities will be used at local schools in the city of Masan and Daejon till February next year on a trial basis, in an attempt to better serve students in provincial cities.

The ministry introduced two types of robots for this project, an "autonomous" unit with voice-recognition features and a "tele-presence" unit that a teacher can remotely control and communicate through a built-in camera and microphone with the students.