Robot 'Riku' Tells Storytelling Fairy Tales

Gangnam-gu to Assign 40s Staff to 66 Local Daycare Centers by July... Positive Response to Robot Experience and Storytelling Education

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jeong Soon-gyun) will conduct storytelling education using the AI robot ‘Riku’ for 66 daycare centers until July.

The district planned the robot-based education to provide children, whose outdoor activities have been limited due to COVID-19, with an opportunity to directly experience AI robots.

Particularly, attention was drawn to the high response received during the pilot operation conducted in two daycare centers throughout January.

The district owns 40 units of ‘Riku’. Two units are assigned per daycare center for 3 to 4 weeks. ‘Riku’ vividly delivers traditional fairy tales familiar to children, such as ‘Kongjwi and Patjwi’, with cute facial expressions and gestures.

Equipped with facial and voice recognition functions, ‘Riku’ can also engage in simple conversations, which is expected to help children’s emotional development.

Meanwhile, last year, the district placed ‘Riku’ in seven senior welfare facilities to help digitally vulnerable groups adapt to the ‘Ontact era’, providing one-on-one customized education on digital usage to 250 seniors, drawing significant interest.

Yoon Jong-min, Director of the Smart City Division, said, “In the second half of the year, we plan to expand the education target with new content such as age-specific customized English education using the robot ‘Riku’,” adding, “We will continue to develop services that combine smart technology and welfare to create a ‘Smart City Gangnam’ that all residents can enjoy.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.