Millette a first for Rockingham class

The first female robot teacher to be sold in Australia has taken up a teaching position in a local classroom. Millette, a name given to her students, is a 61cm-tall humanoid robot with female traits and characteristics. She will teach children living with autism spectrum disorder in Rockingham how to deal with social situations, which they may find awkward. Millette connects to a tablet and then verbally delivers interactive lessons using facial expressions and emotional cues.. Disability services provider Rocky Bay has a deal with US company Robokind to sell the robots in Australia. Up until now, the robots have all been males called Milo. The first female robot took up a full-time teaching position at Rockingham Beach Education Support Centre last month. Principal Margaret Keen said the school had 56 students, of which about 70 per cent had ASD. “I observed a student with ASD working with Milo and a Rocky Bay speech therapist,” Ms Keen said. “Within a short time, the progress that child made was simply amazing. Thanks to Milo, the student went from barely talking to communicating effectively.” Rocky Bay speech pathologist, Lauren Constantine, said Milo had already been a resounding success. “Children with ASD have a particular aptitude to technology and Milo quickly harnesses that interest,” Ms Constantine said. “A lot of these children struggle engaging with a human. A robot, however, gets their attention and maintains it by accessing a range of high-quality video modules, which are supplied with each robot.” Ms Constantine said Millette would add a whole new dimension to learning. "Not only will she get attention as a kind of red-headed Jetson’s astronaut, but she will appeal to girls who are quite under-represented in the ASD space," she said.