Salamanca City Central School District is doing something most schools haven’t tried. Located on the Seneca Nation Reservation in New York, the district is bringing both an AI tutor and a full humanoid robot into classrooms for the upcoming school year.
The technology comes from AI tech company Realbotix, which is deploying two complementary products featuring the Optio AI software platform and an M-Series physical humanoid robot.
Optio functions as a teacher’s assistant during the day and as a 24/7 at-home tutor after school hours. Students can interact with personalized avatars trained on the district’s own curriculum, getting homework help, concept reinforcement, and one-on-one tutoring in several languages.
The face of the operation
The M-Series robot, meanwhile, brings the tech into the physical classroom. It uses facial expressions and natural conversation to interact with students, offering what Realbotix describes as a more engaging form of embodied AI than, say, a tablet or a laptop, and gets kids closer to the kind of tech they’ll be working with as adults.
The pilot will focus on high school students enrolled in Salamanca’s Woz ED AI and Robotics courses, a STEM pathway program founded by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. The district plans to scale the program to include around 500 students by fall.
This deployment in a working school district represents a landmark moment for both AI and humanoid robotics,” said Andrew Kiguel, CEO of Realbotix, in a statement. “We are moving beyond lab demonstrations and pilots to deliver real, embodied AI directly into classrooms — supporting teachers, engaging students, and proving that advanced robotics can thrive in live educational environments,” he added.
Superintendent Dr. Mark Beehler had a more grounded take to offer. Schools have long been struggling to manage the unchecked spread of AI tools, with students often using them in ways the education system wasn’t built for.
A district-configured platform with built-in safety guardrails, privacy protections, and teacher oversight represents a different category of tool. “This partnership gives all students controlled, equitable access to safe and powerful AI resources while fostering learning — not replacing it,” he noted in a statement.
Optio is also being positioned as a valuable resource for neurodiverse learners and a planning aid for teachers, who retain full control over the content students actually receive.
If the pilot succeeds, Realbotix intends to expand the program to other districts. The company will track key metrics including student engagement, concept mastery, and how much time the AI saves teachers on the back end, with Salamanca serving as the flagship. Future expansion therefore depends on what the numbers look like a year from now.
Sources: Business Wire, Onconetix, Robotics Business News