A Chinese student figured out a way to finish her homework faster. In a stroke of genius, she bought a robot and trained it to imitate her handwriting. While some argued that she cheated, others applauded her initiative.
According to a Chinese news agency, the teenage girl saved up 800 Yuan (about $120) to buy a robot that could mimic her handwriting. She then trained the machine to do her writing assignment.
So, rather than repeatedly copy phrases from textbooks dozens of times, the robot simply performed the task for her. In the end, the teen completed her homework in two days – faster than expected.
Her mother sensed that something was off and decided to do some digging. While cleaning the girl’s room, she discovered the robot and reportedly smashed it.
Following Qianjiang Evening News’ report of the event, a debate was sparked on Weibo, a popular social media platform in China. Is the teenage girl a cheater or a genius?
Being proficient at reading and writing in Chinese requires learning thousands of characters. This often requires the tedious process of repeatedly copying them from a text. Aside from being tested on individual characters, the students often have to transcribe a literary text from memory.
By using this technology, the girl skipped the whole learning process. In a post on Weibo, the mother wrote, “It can help you with homework, but can it help you on tests?”
However, thousands of users applauded the teen’s creative idea. “Give her a break. How meaningful is copying anyway?” one commenter asked.
“The difference between humans and other animals is that they know how to make and use tools. This young lady already knows how to do this,” another user wrote.
While the idea of training a robot to do an assignment is new, the technology has been around for a while. It typically involves using robotics to drag a pen across an anchored paper.
In addition to the pre-loaded handwriting styles, users can also digitize and copy their own handwriting.
Using the same technology, a New-York based company, Bond has been able to compose and send thousands of “handwritten” notes.
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