A lifelike humanoid robot was expected to take a seat inside a New York high school classroom.Those plans are now on hold.
The planned robot is reportedly stationary, with silicone skin and long brown hair.Realbotix and Salamanca City Central School District had announced a limited pilot for fall 2026 involving Optio, an artificial intelligence-powered educational assistant, and one new Realbotix M-Series humanoid unit.On July 24, the district announced that the pilot had been paused while it works through enhanced student data privacy agreements with the New York State Education Department.The district is also continuing discussions with community members and other stakeholders before moving forward.It has not announced a new date for the pilot.
The technology was intended to support AI and robotics lessons while teachers remained in control.Still, putting a humanlike machine in front of students raises questions about privacy and how quickly students may trust it.CyberGuy Live: Missed "Sick of Spam?" Get the replay and checklistOur free CyberGuy Live class, "Sick of Spam?", has ended, but you can still watch the full replay and download our spam-stopping checklist.
Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson walks you step by step through simple ways to reduce robocalls, spam texts, junk email and unwanted messages.You’ll also learn how to curb political texts, clean up your inbox and spot messages that could put your personal information at risk.Get the free replay and checklist now at CyberGuyLive.com.FOREIGN ROBOT BAN TARGETS CHINA OVER SECURITY FEARSSalamanca City Central School District will pilot Realbotix’s Optio platform and a purpose-built M-Series humanoid robot in AI and robotics courses.
(Jim Shannon/Connecticut Post/Getty Images)Salamanca City Central School District is located in western New York on Seneca Nation territory.The district had planned to introduce Optio to high school students enrolled in Woz ED AI and Robotics courses.Realbotix previously descr...