UNIZGUniversity of Zagreb
Faculty of Organization and InformaticsEduTech Lab
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AI & EDUCATIONAL ROBOTICS

From programmed robots to conversational learning partners

We research and develop educational applications that combine humanoid and social robots, generative AI, speech technologies and visual programming. Our work explores how physical and virtual agents can support natural, contextual and pedagogically meaningful interaction in real educational environments.

NAO humanoid robot in an EduTech Lab educational setting
NAO · EduTech Lab

OUR APPROACH

Embodied AI for education

Across our platforms, we study how generative AI, speech technologies and teacher-configurable behaviour can make embodied agents more accessible and useful in education. The goal is to support educator-designed interaction—not to replace teachers or position an agent as an autonomous instructor.

  1. 01Perceive
  2. 02Understand
  3. 03Respond
  4. 04Act
  5. 05Learn in context

RESEARCH PLATFORMS

NAO robot used in educational research
01 · NAO + GENERATIVE AI

NAO — Humanoid AI learning partner

NAO is a humanoid robot used in educational scenarios and international classroom pilots. EduTech Lab extends its interaction through generative AI and Croatian and multilingual conversational capabilities, enabling research into speech, context-aware dialogue and human–robot interaction in classroom scenarios.

  • Generative AI
  • Croatian / multilingual interaction
  • Speech interaction
  • Context-aware dialogue
  • Classroom scenarios
  • Human–robot interaction
02 · MISTY II + EDUCATIONAL BLOCKLY

Misty II — From visual programming to conversational AI

EduTech Lab extended the Misty Blockly environment into a bilingual educational application that lets the same Blockly project run in a browser simulator or on a physical Misty II.

Misty Blockly Lab with programming workspace, Simulator Mode, Misty Simulator, AI Services and Sensors and Events
Misty Blockly Lab — educational programming and simulation environment
One Blockly project. Two execution modes.
Browser SimulatorNo physical robot required.→Physical Misty IIRun the same project on the robot.

Visual programming

Create robot behaviour with Blockly.

Simulator + physical robot

Develop and run the same project in either mode.

Croatian + English

Bilingual interface, blocks and speech interaction.

Conversational AI

AI roles, conversational memory, speech interaction and event-driven dialogue.

AI credentials, model configuration and temporary conversational memory are handled by the local backend and are not stored in Blockly projects.

AI EDUCATIONAL AVATAR

AI Educational Avatar — Virtual embodiment for learning

Virtual embodiment for educational interaction

The AI Educational Avatar is an experimental conversational educational agent combining speech, generative AI and teacher-configurable behaviour in a virtual embodied interface.

AI Educational Avatar with the English-language interface, avatar and conversation area
AI Educational Avatar — conversational learning interface

Speech interaction

Speech-to-text + text-to-speech.

Conversational AI

Context-aware dialogue and session memory.

Teacher-configurable

Persona and behaviour can be defined for educational use.

Croatian interaction

Designed to support Croatian-language conversational interaction.

ONE RESEARCH DIRECTION

Different embodiments, shared questions

NAO, Misty II and the AI Avatar let the Lab investigate common educational and interaction questions across distinct forms of embodiment.

01

NAO

Physical humanoid embodiment

02

Misty II

Physical social robot + accessible visual programming

03

AI Avatar

Virtual embodiment

How does physical versus virtual embodiment influence learner interaction?

How can conversational AI be integrated safely and meaningfully into educational agents?

How can Croatian and multilingual speech technologies improve accessibility?

How much control should educators have over an AI agent's role and behaviour?

How can robot programming become accessible without advanced programming skills?

MyRobot MyLearnMate

FROM RESEARCH TO CLASSROOM PRACTICE

MyRobot MyLearnMate

The project connects research with teacher knowledge, training materials, teaching scenarios and practical approaches for integrating educational robots into teaching. International classroom pilots and professional development help educators explore where embodied AI can add pedagogical value.

Visit MyRobot MyLearnMate ↗

RELATED RESEARCH

Selected work behind the platforms

Selected publications from the Lab's existing research record on humanoid and social robots, adoption and teacher preparation.

01 · 2025

NAO Robot in School Education: Insights from the European Survey and Design of Teacher Training

Igor Balaban et al.

02 · 2025

Adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Humanoid Robots in Education: Educators' Motivation and Readiness in Croatia

Igor Balaban et al.

03 · 2024

The use of social robots as teaching assistants in schools: implications for research and practice

Igor Balaban et al.

View all publications →