Lydie, a student at Lycée Carriat, a high school in Bourg-en-Bresse, France, suffers from severe asthma. She used to frequently miss class because of asthma attacks, so her concerned teachers devised a plan: She now comes to school in the morning and stays at home in the afternoon, using a Beam telepresence robot to attend the rest of her classes. The device, made by an American company called Suitable Technologies, lets Lydie interact in real time with teachers and pals, zoom in on what’s written on the board and in her textbooks, and move down the halls to her next class. Everything is easily controlled through the Beam app. (She does need help opening doors, but that’s what friends are for!) In fact, the robot has been so useful, the schools in the area have decided to buy a whole fleet to help other students dealing with similar issues. The machines have started popping up on nearby college campuses too. “You would think that a robot dehumanizes, but it’s actually the opposite,” Sandrine Chaix, disability adviser for the region, told Le Télégramme. “This brings attention to young people who are sometimes isolated otherwise.”