The field of robotics has not been adequately leveraged in the education system, particularly at the school level. To address this void, an alumni group from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay is instituting Robocamp, a six-day summer camp starting from May 25 in Delhi. Targeted at school children aged between 11 and 17 years, the camp has been envisaged to teach the fundamentals of assembling a robot. The Indian Innovators Association has certified the contents of this sixday course in robot programming.
Robotics is an interdisciplinary field with an amalgamation of vital principles of mechanical engineering, computer science engineering and electronic engineering. Talking about the importance of robotics at the school level, Gagan Goyal founder director, Robo.in, says, “Children are exposed to various concepts of mathematics and science like circle, diameter, force, velocity and so on at the primary school level. Since construction of a robot requires attention to all these aspects it aids their understanding at a practical level. Also, through robotics children understand the corresponding relationship between various concepts of maths and science. This can prove beneficial if they choose a career in engineering or scientific and technical research.”
Goyal informs that even in premier engineering colleges, students face a roadblock when they have to physically construct objects. “While they are fairly adept in making object designs through various software programmes they do not have sufficient expertise to work within the constraints and challenges imposed by the real environment. For instance, they do not know enough about fabrication techniques to create specific shapes and heights,” he says.
The camp will also see the launch of i-PITARA — a kit packed with 50 components including a basic electronic chip and sensors to take inputs. It also has a black box that can be connected to a personal computer. “We have also developed CiMPLE, a simplified programming software through which children can connect picture images in a logical sequence to create a robot,” shares Goyal. He adds, “The kit will be sold at retail outlets for Rs 10,000, and provides a lot of flexibility to the user; It can even be used to automate one’s toy car,”
Talking about future initiatives, he says, “We want to promote the knowledge and application of robotics at the primary school level.” Robo.in is also researching development of similar products and is working in the domain of image processing, artificial intelligence and wireless sensor network.
