Educational Robot Control for One-to-Many Learning Interaction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Educational robots are primarily designed for one-to-one interactions and are limited in their application to educational institutions, hindering their ability to provide effective one-to-many education, which is necessary for broader adoption in settings like daycare centers, kindergartens, and schools.

Innovation Solution

A communication robot equipped with a control configuration that includes a communication unit, input unit, sensor unit, output unit, memory, and controller, allowing it to connect to networks, recognize multiple users, and manage learning information, enabling it to provide learning content and interact with multiple users, update learning levels, and share information with other robots.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If an educational robot is designed for one-to-one interaction, then interaction quality is improved, but application scope is limited to home settings

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinteraction qualityVSAvoidapplication scope
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The robot is designed to perform multiple functions: it can provide one-to-one education to individual students, conduct one-to-many education to groups of students, and even provide emergency response services. This multi-functionality allows the robot to adapt to different educational settings including homes, daycare centers, kindergartens, and schools, thereby expanding its application scope while maintaining effective interaction quality through appropriate mode selection

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Adaptability or versatility

If an educational robot is designed for one-to-many education, then application scope is expanded to educational institutions, but interaction quality deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveapplication scopeVSAvoidinteraction quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The robot segments its educational function into distinct modes: one-to-one education mode for individualized attention and one-to-many education mode for group instruction. By segmenting the interaction model, the robot can maintain high interaction quality in one-to-one mode while also providing effective one-to-many education in institutional settings, thus resolving the contradiction between interaction quality and application scope

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Productivity

If a robot manages learning information for multiple users, then educational effectiveness is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveeducational effectivenessVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The robot introduces a learning information management system that acts as an intermediary between multiple students and the robot's core processing unit. This intermediary layer efficiently manages and organizes learning information for multiple users, enabling the robot to provide personalized education to each student without proportionally increasing system complexity. The intermediary system handles data organization, retrieval, and processing, thereby improving educational effectiveness while controlling complexity growth

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP3677392B1Robot and method of controlling the same
Publication Date: 2022.11.23 LG ELECTRONICS INC
  • EP3677392B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3677392B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP3677392B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

According to an embodiment, a robot includes: a communication unit configured to establish connection with a server; an output unit including at least one of a display or a sound output unit; a memory configured to store user information for each user; an input unit including at least one of a camera or a microphone; and a controller configured to control the output unit to output a content, control the output unit to output a message related to the content during or after outputting the content, obtain an interaction data to the message from a selected interaction target person through the input unit when an interaction target person is selected from a plurality of users based on data obtained through the input unit, and update user information of the interaction target person based on the obtained interaction data or transmit the obtained interaction data to the server.