Milo: an autism education robot in US schools that became an on-screen avatar

Milo is a humanoid robot made by RoboKind in the US to teach social skills to autistic children. It went into school districts across the US, but the company now sells avatar-led curricula on screen instead of robots.

MakerRoboKind (Dallas, USA), founded in 2011 by Richard Margolin

LaunchIntroduced with the Robots4Autism programme by July 2014. Exact launch year not confirmed

FormAn expressive face with brown hair and green eyes, a touchscreen on the chest, an HD camera, microphones and several sensors

SettingSpecial education in US public schools

PriceAbout $10,000 (with curriculum and teacher training) to about $20,000, depending on the district (sources differ)

ReachA three-year pilot in 15 South Carolina districts from 2017 (one report says 14). Each robot served up to 15 students

NowIn 2025 the company site says virtual avatars were preferred over hardware and sells avatar-led curricula

Ended byThe maker shifted to avatar software instead of robots (whether robot sales ended is unconfirmed)

Official siterobokind.com ↗

Company moved to avatar curricula; robot sales unconfirmed

Timeline

2011FoundedRoboKind, Dallas
2014.07UnveiledWith Robots4Autism
2017.09State pilot15 South Carolina districts
2021Avatar versionFor remote lessons
2025Shift to avatarsRobot sales unconfirmed

Robots4Autism, built with UT Dallas

Milo is a humanoid robot from RoboKind, a Dallas company founded in 2011 by Richard Margolin. Its face, with brown hair and green eyes, makes expressions, and it has a touchscreen on its chest. It carries an HD camera, microphones, and face, motion and touch sensors. In July 2014 it was presented with Robots4Autism, a curriculum developed with autism experts at UT Dallas. Drawing on social stories, video modelling and applied behaviour analysis (ABA), it taught social skills such as conversation and calming down. Robots4Autism also used Zeno, a robot from Hanson Robotics’ Hanson RoboKind series.

$10,000–20,000 per district, and a 15-district pilot

Milo went mainly into special education classrooms in public schools. The Moberly district in Missouri spent about $10,000 on the robot, curriculum and teacher training, while the robot in Ashland, Ohio cost about $20,000 (sources differ). In September 2017 South Carolina’s education department began a federally funded three-year pilot in 15 districts, with each robot serving up to 15 students. An avatar version for remote learning followed by 2021.

What a teacher saw, and what the company claimed

Megyn Martin, a special education teacher in Moberly, said: “He is engaging and the students are excited to work with him.” UT Dallas researchers reported that children were more engaged with Milo than with a therapist, but the results were preliminary and the number of participants was not given. RoboKind claimed a fivefold increase in time on task, which is the company’s own figure.

The robot gave way to an avatar on screen

In 2025 RoboKind’s site answers “Looking for the Robots?” by saying that data showed virtual avatars were preferred over hardware for student engagement and progress. What the company now sells is curricula for social skills, phonics, numeracy and speech. The teaching content stayed and the robot’s body became a screen. The case raises the question of whether a physical robot was needed at all.

If this product lost its body, which effects would remain, and which only exist because it has one?

What we haven’t confirmed

Milo’s exact launch year and total units sold
When Milo robot sales and support ended, or whether they continue
The results of the South Carolina pilot
The number of participants and final results of the UT Dallas research