Today’s smarter and more advanced robots have become useful tools in the education sector.

One recent experiment at the University of Southern California tested a three-foot robot that serves as a helping hand for teachers. Designed to be a social creature, the robot can respond to human movement like it was a real person.

During the experiment, a six-year old boy with autism imitated the robot’s every move as though they were playing Simon Says. Yet, the six-year-old eventually withdrew, covered his ears and slumped against a wall. His mechanical companion, however, maintained eye contact and raised one arm high up.

Up goes the boy’s arm as well, and then a smile appeared across his face.

This is not the first time that a learning companion-cum-robot was developed. Many laboratories around the world have constructed robots that could encouraging young children and teach them basic skills such as playing, taking turns and elementary imitation. Other robots can even teach vocabulary and household tasks.

In the case of the six-year old and his newfound electronic friend, the robot was very helpful because it was very patient, unlike humans who can get very frustrated and tired from encouraging autistic children to play. This is where robots become very handy; they are filled with endless patience.

In addition, according to several studies, because of robots’ interactive nature, children have more chances of retaining information as compared to learning from stationary flash cards.