The need for an inclusive educational curriculum

What is the best way of undergoing Education? This is a question that is as old as mankind itself. Centuries of learning and understanding concepts have helped us humans evolve as a species, but does just comparing our proficiency with that of our ancestors sufficient? No. That would only partly answer the question. Acquiring knowledge across various spheres such as Science, Math, History has made us collectively smarter, but the average human still does not have a metric that enables him compare his knowledge and acumen with that of his peers. Nor does it make any sense for every human to compare himself with his peers. 

Modern ideas about education continue to be dogged by 19th century notions of merit and ability, which were based on abstract reasoning rather than the ability to design and make things or solve practical problems. These theories and techniques used to measure intelligence are widely used in schools even today. They are closely related to attainment tests in ‘core’ subjects and are used as a way of predicting likely success in traditional subjects recommended by the education boards. This in-turn diminishes the credit for pursuing other forms of ability as second-best.

Of course, English and maths provide the foundation of any young person’s education. It is equally important for them to understand science and their place in the world, which is why history, geography and languages continue to have a central place in the curriculum. But the challenge remains: how do we nurture new generations of engineers, technologists and inventors?

Thanks to the age of Information Technology and that of the smartphone, news and facts are now available at the fingertips of anybody who has access to a mobile phone. The young citizens of the planet are among the most active users of the internet and its wares through smartphones and tablets. With this being the case, they are far more likely to discover content that makes them smarter than an average kid in the 90s or 80s. But, does the curriculum cater to the improved smartness of these new gen whiz kids? Thrusting age old mannerisms of learning, such as rote learning, upon them will be of very little help to improving upon their skills.

It is time to introduce them to newer methods of learning which promote practical thinking and ensure physical application so that a student has instant gratification while he learns the concept. This will ensure that he learns concepts which are not only important to him but also keep him engaged and entertained during the whole process of the learning. Edutainment is the newest order in education. Let us all embrace this change and catalyse the change in curriculums accordingly.

We at Kidobotikz are very much in tune with this philosophy. Our Kidobotikz kits are designed on the beliefs espoused in the former paragraph. Kidobotikz kits are aimed at enhancing the learning methods that students adopt and weeding out ineffective learning practices where the practical understanding of concepts are found wanting.

Happy Roboting ! !

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Drone helps Airbus fly through aircraft inspection

Understandably, drones aren't usually welcome around airplanes owing to the risk they pose, but Airbus is making an exception to that rule. The aerospace firm has been testing and demonstrating how drones can be used for quality inspection before planes are delivered to customers.

Previously, Airbus' quality inspectors had to go up in telescopic handler vehicles to examine aircraft and make sure there were no "non-conformities" such as defects, scrapes or dents. This process was a laborious one, and could take up to two hours. Using drones, though, the company has shown how it has reduced that time to as little as 10 minutes.

Airbus worked with drone outfit AscTec to create a modified Falcon 8 drone with Intel RealSense cameras for intelligent obstacle navigation and a 42-megapixel full-frame camera for data capture. The drone is set to fly a predetermined route around a plane, during which it systematically and automatically take a series of photos. A human drone pilot supervises the flight and is able to take control if necessary.

Up to 150 photos are typically captured and these are then examined by inspectors as 3D models of the plane. It's possible to zoom and pan around the images so as to look closer at certain areas, with the data said to ultimately help improve traceability, prevention and damage reduction.

In addition to making the process quicker and allowing images to be easily reexamined, the drones make it safer and more comfortable for inspectors, who will no longer have to be lifted up in telescopic handlers regardless of weather conditions.

The system is being tested on Airbus A330 and A350 aircraft, after which it is expected to be rolled out for use on all aircraft from next year. It's being demonstrated at this year's Farnborough Airshow in the UK, which runs until July 17.

The video below shows how the drones are being used.

Source: Airbus

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Geek speak: Vidhyasagar

“The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence” said Maria Montessori once. Of course, she knew much better than anybody about the value of practical learning and the positive impact it can have on the development of children. However, we at Kidobotikz take a sense of pride when we realize that we have actually taken the type of education that bears her a few steps forward and included more science and math in it than her methods of pedagogy could ever achieve. The result is a rather ever growing pool of Kidobotikzians who develop wonderful working models here at Kidobotikz after learning the concepts in a manner that the conventional model of the education system fails to imbibe. 

It is sunday afternoon and all around the city is somber after a tiring week and is gearing up for a new week ahead. However, back at Kidobotikz, the activity is quite buzzing. I enter the exam hall/ makeshift makerspace that Kidobotikz students use to display their prowess in their learned concepts of robotics. For six days a week this place is a beehive of activity with students pouring in from across the city to try out new experiments and apply newer concepts of robotics to add a newer tech-edge to their bots. This weekend is no different.

Meet Vidhyasagar, a 10th grader from Jawahar Vidyalaya. Most students I meet are usually new entrants at Kidobotikz and are usually still in their courses. Vidhyasagar is quite different. He is a veteran here at kidobotikz. Having completed his Graduation from Kidobotikz almost two years ago, he still cannot resist his urge to come here every other weekend. He is here this weekend to try out a new experiment where he builds a bluetooth controlled robot that can be controlled using a mobile phone. For the same, he has already developed an android application capable of controlling his bluetooth controlled robot. While this be a source of wonderment for any onlooker, this is business as usual for Vidhyasagar. He spends most of his time building robots and other gizmos and spends his time working on newer concepts. Thanks to the vicinity of Kidobotikz makerspace to the store of SP Robotic Works, he gets all the access he needs to high end tools that are required in making a new gizmo. He claims proudly that ghe churns out a new project every other weekend thanks to all the support he can get from his parents and trainers at Kidobotikz. 

I ask him if he has won any event and he immediately immerses himself into counting. After almost a minute of counting, he says he has won 28 events related to robotics ever since joining Kidobotikz, much to my bewilderment. This robotics whizkid has participated in a myriad of robotics tournaments across the country and also visited Singapore for a robotics competiton where he featured his robot in the open category against other robots in a “Sumo-wrestling”-type format. He regrets losing in that event and hopes to make it back there sometime with a much better bot. He has even visited Indian universities such as NIT & IIT and taken part in events against college students. This wunderkind hopes to study at IIT Kanpur and is planning to start preparations for his JEE from next year. As of now it is just robotics and class 10th studies for this geek who aims to pursue a career in Mechatronics someday.

Happy Roboting ! !

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Mars rover can now pick its own targets to sharpshoot with its laser

Since arriving on Mars in August 2012, NASA's Curiosity Rover has accomplished a lot, travelling over Martian dunes, taking selfies, and even getting a "brain transplant". With its mission recently extended for another two years, the agency has elected to improve the distant rover's ability to conduct science operations under its own steam. The upgrade is related to the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument, allowing the rover to pick targets to fire its laser at without direction from mission scientists back home.

The software is question, known as Autonomous Exploration for Gathering Increased Science (AEGIS), has been used before on the agency's Opportunity rover. The older rover uses the software to analyze images from its wide-angle camera in order to select rocks it should snap closer up, but it doesn't make use of the tech nearly as often as Curiosity.

Now, NASA has applied the technology to Curiosity's ChemCam instrument, which is able to identify the chemical composition of targets by firing a laser at them, and recording the wavelengths of the reflected light. Since arriving on Mars, the instrument, which can analyze rock or soil composition from a distance of 23 ft (7 m), has studied more than 1,400 targets, firing its laser more than 350,000 times.

The software is designed to analyze imagery, searching for snaps that meet certain criteria. The parameters can be adjusted by mission scientists, directing the rover to search for and study targets based on specific size and brightness characteristics.

Despite the capabilities of the software, the majority of ChemCam targets are still selected by scientists, who are actively discussing the soil and rocks seen in the images the rover sends home. However, AEGIS allows the rover to continue gathering data at times when staying in constant contact with mission scientists is difficult, such as when the position of Earth and Mars causes lengthy delays in information sharing.

Another big benefit of having the AEGIS software onboard Curiosity is that it makes the task of lining up shots significantly easier for mission coordinators.

"Due to their small size and other pointing challenges, hitting these targets accurately with the laser has often required the rover to stay in one place while ground operators fine tune pointing parameters," said robotics engineer Tara Estlin. "AEGIS enables these targets to be hit on the first try by automatically identifying them and calculating a point that will center a ChemCam measurement on the target."

Source: Gizmag, NASA

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Geek Speak: Roshan and Riyaz Sadiq

The coldness of Sibling rivalry is one which could put even national teams to shame on the level bitterness that ensues between two competing siblings. With the age of smartphone technology maturing and reaching the hands of younger citizens, the rivalry is just spilling over into the virtual and tech worlds.

Back at Kidobotikz, this form of one upmanship took an interesting turn. Meet Roshan Sadiq and Riyaz Sadiq, siblings and partners in mischief. The two of them are in India on their vacation and yet right on the second day got enrolled here at Kidobotikz. On inquiry, the two of them reveal that their dad had come to check out Kidobotikz’s courses and got them enrolled here on the very same day. I ask them why was that the case and they say, “ Our fights were bringing down the roof and our parents wanted to channel our energies in a more useful activity.” Back in Abu Dhabi, where the two of them reside, the two of them study in classes 8 and 7 of Al Bateen Secondary School respectively. I ask them why didn’t they get enrolled in any of the courses available in their city and their unanimous response was that it was quite boring and that Kidobotikz’s course was quite engaging.

Moving back to their sibling rivalry, even at Kidobotikz the two of are brimming with energy and desire to edge out each other in every way possible. This is quite evident in the manner they’ve gone about their Foundation Level course. It has been hardly a day and the two of them are already halfway through the course. The elder one seems to have performed exceptionally well in the course earning 27 badges already. The younger one, Riyaz, is no meaner too. He’s already earned 10 badges along his course and is fast catching up with brother. I ask the two of them as to how do they think Robotics will influence their lifestyle. The answer I got back was perplexed me. “We are here to build robots as they are the next coolest thing that one can do. Besides, instead of fighting with fists, now we’ll be using robots to settle scores with each other” says a casual Roshan. One cannot help pity the parents who will be bearing the brunt of tech-fueled ruckus these guys would cause once they are back home after their vacations. Living rooms could be the new battle arena, as one wonders. 

With sibling rivalry now moving into the arena of combat robotics, it has added a special special flavour to the already heated field of contest. Not long away are days where siblings like these will come forward to actually solve problems plaguing mankind rather than the problems with each other.

Happy Roboting ! ! ! 

    

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Facebook's internet-broadcasting drone takes to the skies for the first time

Connecting the entire world to the internet by way of solar-powered drones with fricking laser beams attached to their heads sounds more like an Austin Powers plotline than an actual business strategy, but for the folks at Facebook's Connectivity Lab it isn't so far-fetched. In its quest to provide remote regions with affordable internet access, the team recently conducted its first successful full-scale testing of a critical piece of the puzzle, an internet-broadcasting drone called Aquila that will eventually stay airborne for 90 days at a time.

Facebook first revealed a full-scale version of Aquila in July last year. The solar-powered drone has a wingspan of 42 m (138 ft), which is greater than that of a Boeing 737, yet it weighs around a third as much as an electric car, with around half of this accounted for by batteries. Built with a carbon fiber frame and wings coated in solar panels, Aquila is designed to draw all of its power from the sun and stay aloft for months at altitudes ranging from 60,000 to 90,000 ft.

The social media giant has been flying scale models of Aquila as far back as March last year, but hasn't been so forthcoming with details of these tests, other than to describe them as successful. Today the company has given a decent rundown of the initial testing of a full-scale Aquila, which launched into its first flight on June 28.

Because Aquila is designed to be as light as possible, it doesn't carry typical takeoff and landing gear. The flight gave the team the opportunity to test out an unconventional takeoff method, which sees Aquila strapped into a dolly structure that propels it along the runway until it hits takeoff speed. Once it has built up enough momentum, Aqula's autopilot takes over, cutting the straps with pyrotechnic cable cutters and releasing the craft into the air. This played out as the team hoped.

With Aquila in the air, the team were able to observe how their flight modeling stacked up against the real thing. They had built computer models designed to predict the amount of power the drone would need to fly in response to changing aerodynamics, at low altitudes, for example, where the air is warmer and thicker, compared to higher altitudes where it is colder and thinner. Facebook says Aquila's climb rate and battery usage were in line with its modeling.

At its nighttime cruising altitude of 60,000 ft, the drone will require 5,000 W of power, collected by its solar cells during the daytime. But the team is relying purely on batteries for its first tests as it learns about the drone's performance. Its debut saw Aquila float along at only 25 mph (40 km/h). This is a much slower speed than is typically possible with aircraft of the same size, but is made possible by the craft's unique weight-to-surface area ratio. The drone used less than 2,000 W during this first flight, which the team says is indicative of the propellor efficiency, motor efficiency and drag also lining up with the its predictions.

Aquila flew for a total of 96 minutes controlled by its autopilot software, which the team says also performed well. This flight time was more than three times longer than the planned mission length, which allowed the team to gather extra data on the drone's performance to pore over over the coming months. The next stages of testing will involve the Connectivity Lab team adding more Aquilas to the fleet that will be flown to higher altitudes to answer a few key questions Facebook sees as integral to the project's success.

How to gather enough energy from the sun during the day to power not just propulsion, but the drone's payloads, electronics and communications gear over dark stretches as long as 14 hours through the night is one. How to develop high density batteries to store this energy, all while keeping costs low and making Aquila an economically practical way of usurping current network infrastructure, such as expensive cables and cell towers, are a couple of others.

And then of course there is the ambitious idea of using flying lasers to wirelessly transmit information, a technique that promises very high bandwidth and data capacity but comes with more than a few challenges. Facebook imagines that fleets of Aquila's equipped with lasers will receive a ground-based internet signal and daisy-chain it amongst themselves to spread it far and wide, in turn beaming their own broadband coverage down to the ground across an area with a 60-mile (96.5 km) diameter.

This week the company made a promising advance in its pursuit of such a laser-based communication system by revealing a design for a lightbulb-shaped light collector made from fluorescent plastic fibers that could be used to receive the signals being carried by the lasers. This system achieved impressive speeds of up to 2 Gbps, but the team says that speeds of up to 10 Gbps may be possible with further development. So while the company is still a long way from its dream of drone-based internet, it is making some tangible progress towards this goal.

Source: Facebook, Gizmag

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Geek Speak: Rohith

When someone asks me what my favourite about Kidobotikz is, I usually nod and not answer it. That’s because there are some many things here to love. Call it a fountainhead of knowledge if you will, for things that are happening here are not easy to describe in mundane words. However, if there is one very amazing thing that I consider as a treat at Kidobotikz, it is the weekend interactions I get to have with the young and inspiring minds who come here on the weekends with a very common interest on mind- robotics. Every week I get to meet some of the brightest and well versed young minds in whose hands this country will definitely be a tech driven place to live. 

Most of these students don’t just wanna learn, they have a rather innate desire to contribute their knowledge and expertise and gain pleasure from the same. Today was no different either. I met a young chap conversing with whom just helped wipe away the rigours of my working day.

Rohith. C, as his Kidobotikz notebook reads, is a young guy with the dreams too mature than his age warrants. This Expert level Kidobotikz-ian, who is a 9th Grader at Devi Academy Senior Secondary School, has been obsessed with robotics even before the crossed the age of 10. From fiddling with small DC motors in his class 4 to working on interesting robots, he has come a long way. I ask him how he got to know Kidobotikz and he rather proudly admits that he was interested in learning robotics for a very long time and could not enroll in any related courses due to his age gap. And then one day he found the contact information for Kidobotikz on JustDial.com and immediately wasted no time in getting himself enrolled in Kidobotikz’s courses.

This robotics enthusiast, who has a rather composed and humble demeanour, has achieved quite a few laurels for his age. He has participated in quite a few robotics events. Currently, he’s working on a “Self Balancing Robot” for which he is taking guidance from a faculty at Kidobotikz. Ever since he caught the clip of Kamal Haasan riding a Segway on Dasavatharam, he says he’s been obsessed with the concept of a segway and wants to experiment more on this kind of a robot. He believes that applications where robotic servants that ride self balanced wheels to move around the rooms of a residence will change the way humans experience comfort in their living rooms. That’s quite a bit of futurism for a 9th Grader.

Happy Roboting ! !

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