Universities around the world have been forced to close due to the coronavirus but a group of Japanese students have not let the pandemic ruin their graduation.
Japan’s Business Breakthrough University (BBT) has held a graduation ceremony for its students using a series of avatar robots remotely controlled by the same students held at home by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The world’s first online graduation ceremony
The avatar robots, dubbed ‘Newme’ and made by robotics developer ANA Holdings , were decked out in graduation caps and gowns for the ceremony and decked out with tablets projecting the faces of the graduates in question. The Tokyo-based university said it hoped the approach could be used as a model for other schools wanting to avoid large gatherings amid the pandemic hitting us.
Newme is an avatar robot consisting of a base, large screen, camera, microphone, speakers, and collision sensors. The robot can move through an environment and communicate with a user in a remote location.
Shinya Katanozaka, President and CEO of ANA HD, the company that developed the robots, said: “ANA HD is about connecting people and avatars have the potential to connect people around the world in a way that travels traditional ones cannot and it is a continuation of our core beliefs. Our vision of a better connected planet will depend on the latest innovations in haptic robotics, VR / AR and AI to transform the way humans interact. “
The graduation event or ceremony took place on March 28 at the Grand Palace Hotel in Chiyoda. And, as we can see in the image, the recipients, present at the virtual graduation, made the robots collect their respective diplomas on their behalf. The detail of including tablets with their faces in the “face” of the robot, made the ceremony much more realistic. Thus, while other students “attended” the ceremony through the Zoom videoconferencing application, the president of the University, Kenichi Omae, presented the diplomas to the avatars, in a truly unforgettable and curious ceremony.
And it is that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on education around the world. According to the United Nations educational, scientific and cultural body, UNESCO, it is estimated that 91.3% of all enrolled students from more than 188 countries have been affected by school closures caused by COVID-19. Exams, closings, graduation ceremonies …
“When I walked in, I never thought that I would control my avatar and attend the graduation ceremony,” said one graduate student. “Receiving a diploma in a public space while in a private space was a novel experience.”
“We are pleased to hold a warm online graduation ceremony with the introduction of avatars, as new measures are required due to coronavirus. We hope this initiative will be useful for educational institutions struggling to hold graduation and entrance ceremonies,” said Professor Shugo Yanaka, Dean of Global Business Administration at BBT University.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency for the capital Tokyo and six other prefectures, for a period of about one month.
