Salamanca High School in New York had planned to introduce Sally, a 5'2" humanoid robot with lifelike silicone skin and designed facial expressions, as a teaching assistant for upper-grade classrooms in fall 2026. The robot, part of a limited pilot program announced by Realbotix and the Salamanca City Central School District, was to feature Optio, an AI-powered educational assistant integrated into a Realbotix M-Series humanoid unit.

The district reportedly paid $57,590 for the robot and AI program, according to the school board contract. The initial rollout of Optio was expected to reach approximately 500 high school students during the fall semester.

However, on July 24, the district announced that the pilot had been paused while it works through enhanced student data privacy agreements with the New York State Education Department. The district is also continuing discussions with community members and other stakeholders before moving forward.

The school district emphasized that the $57,000 robot is not intended to replace human teachers and operates on a closed AI system with no student data transmitted to manufacturers. The physical humanoid unit has not yet been deployed, and additional details regarding its implementation will be determined in coordination with the district.

The partnership aims to give educators an opportunity to evaluate these technologies in a controlled classroom environment under district oversight. Sally, the planned robot, is reportedly stationary with silicone skin and long brown hair, combining conversational AI with a physical platform capable of natural interaction and lifelike expressions.

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