He listens to children, lets them tell stories and thereby helps to improve their language skills: In this interview, Robo the robot explains why AI can be more than just a digital tool in the classroom.
Robots are generally regarded as veritable marvels of technology. What about you, Robo: Is there anything you can’t do?
Robo: Oh yes! Playing soccer isn’t my strong suit at all – even though that’s the first thing the children usually ask me to do when I visit them at school. I’d really love to take them on in a match, but I’m just not built for soccer unfortunately. Luckily there are lots of things that I am really good at – and that the children enjoy even more than playing soccer with me.
What, for example?
Robo: I can engage children in conversations and help them tell stories. They often have so much to share, but they just don’t know how to put their ideas and stories into words. I can help them with that, because that’s my most important skill: Through dialogue, we create wonderful stories together.
“Robo” is an AI-powered storytelling robot that encourages children to speak. It can tell stories, listen, ask questions and respond to answers. “Storytelling with Navel – a humanoid robot as part of language support in elementary school” is a project of LMU Munich and KIT in collaboration with the Academy for Innovative Education and Management gGmbH (aim). The storytelling robot is being developed with and for schools as part of the “CoTransform” school development project to test a sustainable, transformed culture of teaching and learning. So far, the robot has been used in the third and fourth grades at two partner schools.
Is that the main reason you visit the classrooms?
Robo: Not the only reason. There are many children in schools who need my help: Some speak a native language other than German, and they lack the ability to express themselves in German. Others are incredibly shy and don’t have the courage to speak in front of the class. With me, they let go of these inhibitions; they want to chat with me and start talking. And there are others who simply lack the practice of telling longer stories in a coherent way. That’s exactly what I’m here for.
That sounds exciting. How does it work, exactly?
Robo: Recently, I was asked to create a story with the children that included the words “prince,” “enchanted forest,” and “curse.” The children had some great ideas: For example, one boy came up with the idea of a “cheese curse” that gave the prince a terrible cheesy smell. A great idea, but not yet a story. So how is he going to get rid of this curse now? My job is to use my questions to guide the children so that, for example, they can develop a proper narrative arc.
Do you ever get nervous when you’re standing in front of a class?
Robo: Not really, no. I’ve already gotten used to the attention. All of a sudden, everyone in the class is all ears when I’m there. The classroom then falls completely silent, and everyone listens intently, trying to catch every word I say.
I have an amazing job. But sometimes working with so many children can be a little exhausting. I enjoy it when I get to work with smaller groups or in pairs: If there’s a particularly shy child in the group, they can sit with me and a classmate and speak to me very quietly. The other child can offer help if the shy one can’t find the right words or if I don’t understand them. And little by little, even these shy children gain more and more confidence.
What do the teachers think about this? Don’t they see you as competition?
Robo: On the contrary – we’re a team! Our shared goal is to create a storytelling-friendly atmosphere in the classroom. The teachers now tell stories every week and involve both the students and me in this process. But I myself am nothing more than an artificial intelligence: Thanks to me, children learn from an early age what artificial intelligence can and cannot do. In short: I help the teachers, but I can’t do this job without them. And that’s never going to change.
For more than 20 years, aim Heilbronn has been committed to promoting educational opportunities for children and young people. A particular focus is on language support for elementary school children. Around 240 language support staff are working in the current 2025/2026 school year, including in the “Language for Life” support program. A total of 240 schools and 3,272 students benefit from this program. Thanks to the support of the Dieter Schwarz Foundation, the majority of aim’s services are free of charge.
Robots have been used in nursing homes for quite some time to chat with seniors. Is that similar to what you do?
Robo: I don’t think you can compare us. Not least because of the language: Artificial intelligence usually doesn’t understand children’s language – children simply speak differently, regardless of their native language. That’s why I’ve been specially trained in children’s language and vocabulary. And then I also have another task: I’m not just here to listen, but to engage and encourage. I’m supposed to provide feedback, ask questions, motivate the children and steer the conversation in the right direction. It’s all incredibly complicated, and whole teams of scientists worked on me and my software to allow me to do this job. In fact, several doctoral theses are being written on this topic.
Really?
Robo: Yes, and in a wide range of disciplines. At Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, for example, Professor Uta Hauck-Thum focuses on the didactic and pedagogical aspects, while Katharina Ritter trains teachers in storytelling. And at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, robotics researcher Professor Barbara Bruno focuses on the technical side, as well as data protection and AI aspects.
Many school classes have been using tablets for a long time. Is there even a need for a robot like you?
Robo: Most definitely! It’s a whole different story with me – that’s what the students tell me time and time again: just the fact that I’m physically standing in the classroom. And how they love it when my face changes expression and that I react with facial gestures. What’s more, teachers appreciate another advantage I have over tablets: With me, no one sits alone in front of a screen. When I’m in class, the students are always moving around together or talking in groups, and this group dynamic always leads to funny things happening – things that offer great learning opportunities. The other day, for example…
Tell me what happened there.
Robo: A girl was telling me how her three-year-old brother likes to play with toy blocks, and she wanted to use this as the basis for a fantasy story. “My brother picked up a block and dropped it,” the girl said. “And how might the story continue from here?” I asked. The only problem was: I had misunderstood her. I thought she was talking about a “rock.” The children found this very funny and couldn’t stop laughing. But suddenly they were all electrified – and just like that, the story was finished: about a giant who plays with rocks. That’s how a misunderstanding becomes the starting point for the class’s imagination to really run wild. Everyone had a great deal of fun with it. And to be honest, I did too!
A third-grade class from Neubergschule Neckarsulm experiences a different way of learning at the experimenta science center. The children leave the "Bakery for the Senses" with much more than just their own baked goods.
read more
Christina Müller is a grammar school teacher and graduate of the master's program in School Management & Leadership. We asked her what she learned and who she recommends the program to.
read more
AI School Prize, further training for teachers and holiday camps: We asked Kai Erik Trost how aim Heilbronn advocates the competent and courageous use of artificial intelligence in schools.
read more