Linking children by telerobotics: Experimental field and the first target

The paper describes our project whose final goal is to link remote classrooms by telerobotics. The first target is to offer children in Japan an opportunity to remote-control a robot placed in an US classroom, and participate in the classroom activities. By conducting field trials at nursery schools and language schools for children, we aim to identify and solve critical problems which might prevent this potentially popular technology from becoming a reality. Here, we will report the development of a remote-hand device which seems to be the most required element for the proposed system.