Source: Zenbo pictured with University of Delaware researchers. Source: University of DelawareResearchers from the University of Delaware have programmed a social robot to teach young students about cybersecurity.

Using Zenbo, an off-the-shelf, 2 ft tall social robot, the research team pre-programmed the robot with classic children’s stories like Little Red Riding Hood but injected the tale with cybersecurity lessons.

Among the lessons imparted to students were tips about securing private information online, ensuring online safety and using the internet responsibly and ethically.

For example, during the robot’s reading of Little Red Riding Hood, the grandmother in the story reminds Red Riding Hood to secure the passwords necessary to enter her home. Such messages are designed to reinforce positive online behaviors to create a future generation of good digital citizens, according to its developers.

The robot imparting cybersecurity lessons is also intended to attract younger students to the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Introducing young students to such topics early on in their education reportedly encourages greater interest in STEM subjects and, consequently, STEM careers.

As developers demonstrate the robot in actual classrooms, they intend to turn student responses to the storytelling robot into usable data for improving the cybersecurity lessons. Pilot trials of the robot will begin in the spring of 2020.

Storytelling is not the only task that social robots like Zenbo are capable of. A social robot called Pepe teaches children about the importance of handwashing while researchers from the University of Plymouth have determined that social robots could potentially be used as counselors. Meanwhile, scientists at Washington State University (WSU) have created a social robot for keeping elderly people with dementia and other limitations living in their own homes longer.