New robot deepens AI and business education at Golisano Institute

RIA, a humanoid robot designed for social and emotional engagement, is helping students at Golisano Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship explore firsthand a unique application of advanced artificial intelligence and robotics.

Golisano Institute recently welcomed RIA, a prototype for a humanoid robot being developed by Machani Robotics. The human-like, conversational robot is designed for use in sectors like eldercare, education, healthcare, and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“Machani Robotics has a mission to redefine care using social- and emotional-intelligence robots like RIA,” explained Rahul Chatterjee, chief operating officer at the company based in Bangalore, India.

Machani Robotics has a mission to redefine care.

– Rahul Chatterjee, COO, Machani Robotics

“RIA has been intended to work with other human beings—not in a factory or a warehouse,” Chatterjee explained. “If there is a use case which needs emotional and social skills, cognitive understanding and companionship, then RIA is a very good fit.”

Advanced AI in the classroom

Golisano Institute’s two programs—a professional certificate in business and entrepreneurship and an advanced certificate in AI and business—stress exposure to AI as key to succeeding in today’s business landscape. RIA, along with Chatterjee and other members of the Machani Robotics team, have been based in the institute’s AI Innovation Hub since June.

The hub is a learning lab where students can apply a wide range of AI tools to real-world business cases. Leveraging the hub’s resources, institute faculty are currently exploring strategies for incorporating RIA into classroom learning.

In the short term, the interactive robot will be used to simulate different business or career scenarios, says Graham Anthony, the institute’s assistant vice president for educational technologies and innovation. Such simulations may remove common anxieties or pressures that can arise when students are tasked with role-playing exercises, Anthony explained.

“We run sales simulations where RIA plays a customer who’s hesitant to buy, challenging students to practice overcoming objections in real time,” he said. “We also use her to simulate job interviews where she plays the interviewer. These exercises help build real-world readiness.”

Long-term, Anthony sees a lot of potential for integrating RIA into active student learning.

“We have some pretty wild ideas about what’s possible,” he said. “First, we needed to get RIA into the classroom to understand where her boundaries are. Now we are working with Machani Robotics to build out new capabilities.”

We have some pretty wild ideas about what’s possible.

– Graham Anthony, AVP for educational technologies and innovation, Golisano Institute

A dynamic sandbox environment

While RIA exposes students to advanced AI in new ways, Machani Robotics also benefits from Golisano Institute’s model for business education.

“We see an extremely win-win situation,” said Chatterjee. “[We’re] developing use cases trying to determine how RIA can be deployed in classrooms. […] These are use cases which, after validation here, can be rolled out in any institute anywhere.”

The campus center in Rochester, New York, serves as a platform for the Indian tech startup to gain exposure in the U.S. market. As a business in residence at the institute, Machani can reach further afield to demonstrate RIA and generate national interest.

We see an extremely win-win situation.

– Rahul Chatterjee, Machani Robotics

There is also considerable opportunity at the local level; Rochester is home to a burgeoning innovation ecosystem. Chatterjee joined the current cohort in the GrowthX Revenue Accelerator, a B2B sales-training program for tech-startups that operates at the institute.

Social impact

Machani Robotics hopes RIA will one day be a common tool that caregivers can use to counter the loneliness and disconnection often felt by the people they support. The desire to make positive impacts extends from the company’s parent firm, Machani Group.

Machani Group operates IndiVillage Tech Solutions, a data-management and business-process-outsourcing services company that is creating new employment opportunities in rural India. These regions have little access to tech-sector jobs, which has exacerbated the gender divide in India, since most women do not travel to large cities for work, according to Chatterjee. Countering this trend, women make up more than half of the company’s workforce of 1,200 employees.

The group also runs IndiVillage Foundation. The nonprofit aims to close the learning-and-skills gap for women in India by running multiple programs for young girls and women aged 5–18.

Education through partnership

Machani Robotics is just one of many businesses that are partnering with Golisano Institute. Whether as businesses in residences, guest speakers, or internship sponsors, a wide array of companies collaborate with the institute, which creates high-value opportunities for students to learn in real-world scenarios and to make connections that can help them build careers after graduation.

We have a focus and it’s educating students.

– Graham Anthony, Golisano Institute

“We’re a nonprofit. We have a focus and it’s educating students,” said Anthony. “Anything we can do to get those students educated is the most important thing, and if that means we can share some really great ideas, and it’s helping a company that aligns with our values, we’ll do that.”