A walk with a robot!

The first robotics class conducted in Hyderabad aims at introducing STEM concepts to students

To help students acquaint themselves with this amazing field of study, Ravi Kumar, the founder of EduRobo, introduced the first workshop of its kind in Hyderabad. The classes began on April 20 and will end on May 31. The course on robotics was aimed at introducing the concepts of robotics to primary school and college students through practical lessons and experiments.

Conducted in three batches, the concepts were introduced to students according to their maturity levels. Engineering students were given entry to advanced levels of the course. “We help them understand the basics before teaching them motor and sensor programming in the simplest possible way”, says Ravi. The children are encouraged to come up with their own ideas and designs. They are also given problem-solving exercises.

The programme, according to Ravi, is set to encourage critical and logical thinking in students. Critical thinking requires them to identify the glitches in a particular mechanism whereas logic would help them envisage designs for the future, says Ravi. “We give students a brief idea on how to construct or add sensors, transmitters and receivers and let them work on their own ideas. Their designs are showcased in our research center”, says a teaching faculty at EduRobo.

The materials obtained for the experiment are imported and ergonomic so children can use them easily. The children during the workshop have built line detectors, puzzle finders, 3D prints, obstacle detectors, talking robots, puppy robots, aero plane and a humanoid robot

For educational purposes in Hyderabad, EduRobo also bought a small humanoid robot from Aldebaran Robotics, similar to NAO, the 58-centimeter tall first non-human employee of Japan’s Mitsubishi Bank. Ravi says that such introductory classes are best way to get children excited about science, technology, engineering and math(STEM).

He has also observed that parents are now more interested than ever to introduce the concepts of STEM to their children. The team also conducts one day workshops in schools and colleges. Many schools have approached the organization to arrange for classes during the course of their academic year. The workshop has received a good response and will continue visiting schools and academic institutions to facilitate more such workshops.

By:Priya Ratnam