Geek Speak: The insatiable thirst of Curiousity . . .

The truest fruit of technology lies in the way it empowers the human race. A technology is usually considered empowering when it can reach out to the youngest minds of the society and inspire them to add to its value. This is a fact that is reiterated day upon day at Kidobotikz. It so happens that on my every passing day here at Kidobotikz, I discover some amazing stories.

Students who join kidobotikz are known for their resolute and unflinching love for the field of robotics. These young makers make it a point to spend their weekends and vacations doing what they love best - building robots. However, when this desire turns into a passion what these kids do to satiate their curiosity and maker instinct is as good as anybody’s guess. More often than not, the results arising from such passively pursued projects are remarkable beyond measure. My tryst with such stories is something I relish.

Meet Gireesh Suresh, an integral cog of Kidobotikz’s R&D team and a passionate faculty member of the Kidobotikz team. An armchair expert on robotics since his high school days, Gireesh takes pride in being able to help Kids of learn the concepts of this amazing field. Gireesh who has not been here for long enough already has an interesting story to share. He is currently associated with guiding a student on a project for which the student had approached Kidobotikz. The student Smritika, who is an alumni of Kidobotikz, wanted to pursue a project where she would be exploring the possibility of using a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor to detect human presence in an area. This concept is quite revolutionary wherein it finds applications ranging from Automatic doors in office lobbies to autonomously operated corridor lights in a library. It also finds potential applications in disaster management scenarios wherein trapped victims can be detected using the device.

While all of this is regular at Kidobotikz, the interesting twist is the fact that Smritika is actually not in India. She resides with her parents in Dubai. When she wanted to pursue this project, she couldn’t find a local makerspace where a school student could be accommodated. Thanks to special efforts from Kidobotikz, Smritika now receives guidance and gets her doubt clarified on the project from Gireesh via Skype.  Her guide Gireesh is all praise for the young girl. “From getting to know about the PIR sensor and deciding it potential use, it took her a very short duration. This shows the impact and influence robotics has on kids’ intellectual acumen.”  

Happy Roboting ! !