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Robotic Owl which helps kids catch up with school after lockdown wins Gov cash

A ROBOTIC owl has won government funding to help keep kids catch up with their education following the Covid lockdown. 

The owl, named Focus Pocus by its creators, uses Artificial Intelligence to monitor pupils' attention and emotions when they are viewing a screen. 

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Kids who fell behind on learning while schools were closed will be helped out by a robotic owl
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Kids who fell behind on learning while schools were closed will be helped out by a robotic owlCredit: Alamy Live News

And it even wakes them up if their attention drifts off. 

The Cabinet Office has given it funding to roll-out the digital owl nationwide to help parents get their kids up to speed after the six-month school hiatus. 

The technology can be integrated with any educational content platforms.

A parent or teachers enters the child age, level of attentiveness and time limit onto the screen and the adaptive media technology measures their attention in real time and adapts to boost their focus.

The learner gets reminders to focus on the task and animated alerts when their attention starts to fade. 

After successfully completing a task the child gets a reward that’s pre-determined by parents or teachers. 

And the owl can even smile back at a pupil if they smile at their screen.

Focus Pocus was originally invented as an AI tool for advertising but its owners were frustrated parents during lockdown and re-purposed it as a tool to help primary school kids with home-schooling. 

Focus Pocus was created by dads Matthew Mayes and Claudio Piovesana during lockdown after they struggled to keep their primary-aged kids motivated with online school work.

They originally thought that the AI tool could be used for advertising but had such a nightmare with learning over lockdown that they redesigned it to be useful to primary aged pupils.

Their parent company, A-dapt, has now got government backing from the Cabinet Office’s Innovate UK, which is rewarding start-ups that come up with solutions for combating the fall out from Covid-19.

It can be used in classrooms to measure a pupil’s attentiveness and progress as well as at home to help with remote or blended learning.

The content can instantly change if they are struggling or bored.

As the UK braces itself for local and national lockdowns over winter, Focus Pocus is being prepared for trials.

Mr Mayes, the father of nine year old twin girls, said: “Like millions of other parents, I was tearing my hair out after a few days of trying to get my kids to focus on remote learning while working full-time from home.

"It was no hoot, until we got Focus Pocus up and running.

“Claudio and I quickly realised that the technology we originally thought could be used in adverts could very quickly be repurposed for education and for a greater good.

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“Remote or blended learning doesn’t have to be a disaster and it looks like we may be stuck with it for some time. Focus Pocus can steer children back on track both at home and in the classroom.

"The ability to sustain a child’s attention is crucial, especially when they are having to adapt to learning from home.”

 

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