Handwashing robot helps schoolkids make a clean break with bad habits

A robot which encourages kids to wash their hands has helped pupils at a remote Indian primary school take a fresh approach to hygiene. robot The hand-shaped robot, dubbed 'Pepe', is the product of a collaboration between researchers from the University of Glasgow in Scotland and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University in India. Pepe was mounted to the wall above a handwashing station at the Wayanad Government Primary School in Kerala, which has around 100 pupils aged between five and 10. A small video screen mounted behind Pepe's green plastic exterior acted as a 'mouth', allowing researchers to tele-operate the robot to speak to the pupils and draw their attention to a poster outlining the steps of effective handwashing. A set of moving 'eyes' helped bolster the illusion that Pepe was paying attention to the childrens' actions. The robot helped pupils to wash their hands more effectively and more consistently, boosting their rates of handwashing by 40%. Pupils spent on average twice as long washing their hands after Pepe's arrival.