When children suffer from chronic illnesses and can’t attend school, it’s not just the illness that affects them — being separated from their classroom and friends can also take an emotional toll.
For kids undergoing long-term medical treatment or dealing with mental health challenges, the Norwegian company No Isolation created the AV1 robot. This robot serves as their eyes, ears, and voice in class, helping them stay connected with their peers and participate in lessons remotely.
The AV1 robot resembles a simple version of a human torso and head. It can rotate 360 degrees and is equipped with a camera, microphone, and speaker. Teachers place it on a desk in the classroom, and the student controls it via an app with a unique password.
“They can swipe the screen to look around the room,” explained Florence Salisbury, marketing director at No Isolation. The student can talk to the teacher or classmates through the robot’s speaker, and there’s a “raise hand” feature that makes the robot’s head light up. It also allows students to send emojis through the robot’s eyes.
Currently, there are about 3,000 active AV1 robots in 17 countries, mostly in the UK and Germany, where each has over 1,000 units in use. In the UK, schools can rent the AV1 for £150 ($200) per month or buy it for £3,700 ($4,960) with an additional yearly service fee of £780 ($1,045).
Salisbury highlighted the robot’s biggest advantage: its ability to maintain social connections. She shared the story of a 15-year-old student in Warwickshire, England, whose friends take the robot to lunch, making sure he still feels part of their group.
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“For students facing long absences due to medical conditions, this connection to school is a lifeline,” Salisbury said.
According to the latest UK government data, over 19% of students in England were persistently absent in the autumn of 2023/24, with 7.8% of those absences due to illness—higher than pre-pandemic levels.
While remote learning became widespread during the Covid pandemic, it’s no longer a standard option for most students. AV1 was introduced before the pandemic, but some schools have since used the robot to help students who struggle to reintegrate into the classroom.
“They make the child important”
The UK’s Chartwell Cancer Trust currently has 25 AV1 robots available to support children with serious illnesses. Michael Douglas, a founding trustee, told CNN that these robots allow children to stay connected with their education, even when in intensive care. “Parents love them, and they truly make a difference,” Douglas said. “They help the child feel important.”
However, he admitted that there can be administrative hurdles, with “red tape” sometimes complicating efforts to bring the AV1 robots into schools or hospitals. Additionally, some schools may face difficulties maintaining the necessary technical infrastructure due to poor Wi-Fi or mobile signal issues.
Technical training
In June, research published in Frontiers in Digital Health explored the use of the AV1 robot in Germany and the OriHime avatar robot in Japan. The study found that these technologies have great potential to help children remain socially and educationally connected while they are unable to attend school.
However, the research highlighted the need to establish systems that ensure equal access to avatar technologies. It also emphasized that teacher training on both the technical and social aspects of these robots is crucial for successful implementation.
In response, No Isolation, the company behind AV1, launched AV1 Academy last August, offering a library of training materials and resources to improve the usability of the robot.
According to Florence Salisbury, No Isolation’s marketing director, the AV1 robot is built with strong privacy protections. It collects no personal data, prevents screenshots or recordings, and uses encryption to secure the livestream. Only one device can connect to the robot at a time, with the robot’s head and eyes lighting up to indicate active use.
Other avatar robots, such as VGo and Buddy, are available on the market, some equipped with wheels for mobility or screens that show the user’s face. However, Salisbury explained that AV1’s lack of wheels makes it easier to use in schools, as it weighs just one kilogram and can be moved between classes in a custom backpack.
She also noted that not having a screen displaying the child’s face can be an advantage. “Removing the pressure to be on camera has increased the likelihood of the robot being used by students with emotionally based school avoidance,” she said.
