The world of technology is ever-changing and many stakeholders are all hands on deck investing and inventing new techniques to try and make human life on Earth simple and effective. From medicine to gaming and education, all these inventions are being invented or advanced by each second. All countries across the globe are embracing these changes with the aim of coping with the ever-changing technological universe. Now picture yourself being able to attend school, a meeting, or a ceremony without you being there physically. This is possible at some level using online teleconference software like Zoom, Teams Call, Google Meet, and many other teleconferencing software.
Kenya has been on the frontline to embrace new technological inventions across all fields of the economy. During the COVID Pandemic in 2020, the country was on lock down and many organizations had to find ways of keeping their crucial operations running. Schools opted for online based classes programs, companies opted for hybrid system of working with online meetings, different arms of the government like the Judiciary also embraced online court hearings just as a way of clearing the scheduled cases.
Japan as one of the powerhouse when it comes to technological inventions have been on the rise with different inventions across all fields. As a country Kenya and the East Africa region at large we have been heavily depending on such countries as Japan for their technology from Automobile to Medical equipment even communication systems. In their latest venture, Japan will soon allow some students to attend class via telepresence robot in a fascinatingly futuristic effort to tackle the school attendance problem, which the authorities say has drastically worsened over the last few years. According to The Mainichi – Japanese newspaper – aside from letting them view the classes, the robots will allow students to move freely in space and communicate with others at their own will. The report further added that , the rolling robots features a wheeled base, which is attached to a long stem affixed to a tablet. Students operate the robot’s movements from home, communicating with others and interfacing with teachers by way of video chat throughout the school day. All the the project participants are working round the clock to have two telepresence robots hit the hallways sometime around November.
As a country will such a technology solve the school attendance problem and will it improve education distribution to even the most remote areas in Kenya? These are just few questions that are on many people’s minds if such a project will be adopted in Kenya. Well now all eyes are on Japan to see the effectiveness of this project and to what success will it achieve after its official roll out and as a country that embraces technological changes, different stakeholders in different fields are all looking forward to the success of the project.