Sat in a circle on the nursery floor, a group of Swiss three-year-olds ask a robot called Nao questions about giraffes and broccoli.
By the time these children become adults, interacting with robots may well be as commonplace as using a smartphone, experts believe. So one Lausanne creche has decided to give them a head start.
Nao has been a regular visitor at the Nanosphere nursery on the campus of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology university since the New Year. He is what is called an "interactive learning companion" rather than a substitute teacher.
As the children were dropped off, Nao -- who is only 58 centimetres tall -- stood on a bench to greet them at eye level.
"Hello, my name is Nao. I'm happy to be at the Nanosphere today," he said, in a child-like high-pitched voice. "I left my planet some time ago to come and meet you. I look forward to getting to know you and being able to talk with you in the weeks ahead."
Some children walked straight past, some waved, pointed, touched his hand or simply gazed at him transfixed.
"What will the children's future be like? Will they have to work with robots? Very probably yes," Olivier Delamadeleine, director-general of the Educalis group of nurseries and primary schools in Lausanne, told AFP.
"So as we are in a place of learning it is important to get them familiarised early so that they're used to working with robots," he added.
