• 2 min read
New York school tests robot teacher Sally
Salamanca City Central is piloting Realbotix’s humanoid classroom assistant Sally, with 24/7 homework help and plans for more robot tutors this fall.
Image: Mashable
A New York school district is putting a humanoid robot into summer school classrooms, with a broader rollout under consideration for the fall. Salamanca City Central School District in Salamanca, New York, has partnered with Toronto-based Realbotix to pilot an AI teaching assistant called Optio, embodied in an M-Series robot named Sally.
Sally will appear in select Salamanca City Central High School AI and Robotics courses. According to the company, the robot uses natural language processing, facial expressions, and live feedback to support students, with “education-specific safety guardrails” in place. It has a human-like appearance, stays seated at a desk, and can make partial upper-body movements.
Students will use their student ID number to let Sally pull up personalized learning data. The district said the system will also be available outside school hours, including 24/7 homework support. Salamanca is part of the Woz ED STEM Pathway curriculum program launched by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
“This deployment in a working school district represents a landmark moment for both AI and humanoid robotics. We are moving beyond lab demonstrations and pilots to deliver real, embodied AI directly into classrooms — supporting teachers, engaging students, and proving that advanced robotics can thrive in live educational environments. Salamanca marks the beginning of a new era where humanoid robots and intelligent AI assistants become standard tools in STEM education.”
The pilot also arrives with clear concerns. Realbotix, formerly known as Tokens.com, rebranded after acquiring RealDoll in 2024 and recently showed off a new line of highly lifelike robot companions. At the same time, watchdog groups have warned that classroom AI can reinforce bias, deepen inequality, and become a cheaper substitute for human teachers in under-resourced districts.
Those worries are especially relevant in Salamanca. The district sits partly on the Seneca Nation of Indians Reservation, more than a third of its students are Indigenous, and about 79 percent are economically disadvantaged, according to New York Focus.
Recommended reading
Mira Murati’s lab unveils Inkling, a 975B open model
“This partnership gives all students controlled, equitable access to safe and powerful AI resources while fostering learning — not replacing it.”
AI Editor
Ava covers the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, from foundational models and research labs to the real-world economics of intelligence. With a background in computational linguistics, she cuts through the hype to find out what actually works. She firmly believes that benchmarks are just marketing until reproduced in the wild.
via Mashable
