Salamanca High School will launch a first-of-its-kind pilot program this autumn by introducing Sally, a stationary humanoid robot designed to help teach AI and robotics to 11th and 12th graders.
Developed by startup Realbotix for $57,590, the lifelike robot features a local Western New York accent, facial expressions, and a connected laptop avatar to assist students with homework and translations in over 100 languages.
Despite pushback from some local parents concerned over community poverty and environmental issues, school officials emphasize that the robot operates on a secure, offline system to protect privacy and will strictly serve as a classroom resource to support—not replace—human teachers.
