Salamanca High School in New York introduces Sally, a 5'2" humanoid robot, as a teaching assistant for upper grades. Sally features lifelike silicone skin and designed facial expressions. The school district emphasizes that the $57,000 robot won't replace human teachers and operates on a closed AI system with no student data transmitted to manufacturers.<\/p>\n
A lifelike humanoid robot was expected to take a seat inside a New York high school classroom. Those plans are now on hold. The planned robot is reportedly stationary, with silicone skin and long brown hair.<\/p>\n
Realbotix and Salamanca City Central School District had announced a limited pilot program for fall 2026 involving Optio, an artificial intelligence-powered \u00a0educational assistant, and one new Realbotix M-Series humanoid unit.<\/p>\n
On July 24, the district announced that the pilot program had been paused while it works through enhanced student data privacy agreements with the New York State Education Department.<\/p>\n
The district is also continuing discussions with community members and other stakeholders before moving forward. It has not announced a new date for the pilot program. The technology was intended to support AI and robotics lessons while teachers remained in control. Still, putting a humanlike machine in front of students raises questions about privacy and how quickly students may trust it.<\/p>\n
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Salamanca City Central School District will pilot Realbotix\u2019s Optio platform and a purpose-built M-Series humanoid robot in AI and robotics courses. (Jim Shannon\/Connecticut Post\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Salamanca City Central School District is located in western New York on Seneca Nation territory. The district had planned to introduce Optio to high school students enrolled in Woz ED AI and Robotics courses.<\/p>\n
Realbotix previously described this as a limited fall 2026 pilot involving its digital assistant and one physical robot. The district has since placed the project on hold while it addresses student privacy agreements and gathers additional community input. Realbotix told CyberGuy, "The partnership also gives educators an opportunity to evaluate these technologies in a controlled classroom environment under district oversight."<\/p>\n
The district reportedly paid $57,590 for the robot and AI program, according to the school board contract. Realbotix reportedly discounted the package from the M-Series robot's listed starting price of $95,000. The initial Optio rollout had been expected to expand to approximately 500 high school students during the fall semester. That planned expansion would have applied to the AI platform and student avatars rather than 500 physical robots.<\/p>\n
The proposed project includes two connected parts. Optio is the digital AI educational assistant that students can access through personalized avatars. The M-Series robot would give that technology a physical presence in the classroom. Realbotix told CyberGuy, "Its technology combines conversational AI with a physical humanoid platform capable of natural interaction and lifelike expressions."<\/p>\n
The company says its humanoid platform can use natural conversation and facial expressions during real-time interactions. The robot is designed to give students hands-on exposure to AI and robotics rather than limiting the lesson to a laptop screen.<\/p>\n