Kidobotikz kits: A Gateway to STEM learning

Over the course of the past decade, the demand for STEM learning in the country has gained commendable traction. STEM, which is an abbreviation for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math is a form of learning wherein all the aforementioned subjects are converged into a single practical-oriented curriculum rather than being taught as separate subjects. This union of the individual subjects into a single form is aimed at improving the thought processes of students as it claims to provide students with a learning environment that keeps them engaged in problem solving and finding solutions. While this is an ideal approach to revamping the course structures that students currently engage in, the concept of STEM in itself has remained Idealistic and its accurate implementation has still remained a distant pipe dream. This situation needs to be addressed with.

Today, promoters of STEM claim to have created learning environments that allow students to be more active.Their belief is that with the creation of an environment using new age gizmos such as tablet or smartphone based apps , students are engaged in their own learning. They emphasise that students get active with the courseware with no manipulation.. However, in cases more often than not, the truth is a different reality. STEM courses as engaging as they claim to be are still inherently complex for young students. The concepts of Science and Technology can be a major leap for the primitive perception of students. It is highly imperative that they are encouraged to get in the mould of visualising concepts and remembering them the right way so that the foundation upon which their further learning happens remains strong. However, contemporary techniques of STEM education fail to capture the imagination of students. Kids, as much as they love to watch animated videos, still are not completely capable of assimilating concepts from just videos. They need a much better tool that helps them experience the physical manifestation of a concept. It also aids when this physical experiments provides them with the instant gratification of learning a concept and experimenting with it in-situ.

We at Kidobotikz looked at this problem of niche and aimed at solving it. The culmination of this problem solving exercise was the birth of the Kidobotikz kit. The Kidobotikz kit offers an overall learning experience for kids in the core concepts of STEM through an online platform that is not only engaging and interactive but is also gamified to promote healthy competition among peers. The kits which are perused by the kids while learning on the platform provide the instant gratification for Kids that other products have been found wanting. Both the Kids and the Kits associated with Kidobotikz are rarely left exhausted in their intellectual elements, all thanks to the efforts spent in developing this kit. If the reader still needs help finding convincing, we suggest you to visit our centres along with your wards to try out a kit today ! !

Happy Roboting ! !

Read More

Walkera’s new superzoom camera drone can spot you a mile away

Walkera has beefed up its prosumer level flagship camera drone with two killer new features. The Voyager 4 has a gimbal-stabilized, 360-degree camera with a 16x optical zoom lens capable of a maximum 1500mm focal length. Plus, with both the drone and the controller connected to 4G wireless internet, there's no limit on control range, so you could literally fly this thing from the other side of the world.

When consumer camera drones like the DJI Phantom were first launched, people worried about the privacy implications of airborne cameras that could see over fences and into bathroom windows. But truth be told, most every drone on the market shipped with such a wide angle lens that your average backyard sunbather would amount to just a few pixels in the final image unless you flew very close indeed.

It was only a matter of time before somebody came out with a drone that packed in serious telephoto zoom capabilities – and in the last week, two have launched. One is DJI's Zenmuse Z3 Zoom camera for the Inspire One, which offers a decent 7x zoom from a 22mm to a 77mm lens equivalent. The other is much more powerful: the Walkera Voyager 4. It blows the DJI camera's zoom capabilities out of the water with a 16x optical zoom that gives you the equivalent of a 10-1500mm lens.

In practical terms, maximum zoom lets you get a similar frame to what a typical Phantom 4 now shoots from much, much further away. As much as a kilometer (0.62 mi) away, according to the manufacturer. 

Telephoto zoom is significant from a filmmaking point of view, because consumer-grade aerial cameras have generally only ever had very wide angle lenses. This made them easier to fly, but harder to film with. For example, when shooting a car, you had to get very close. 

Of course, there's also privacy implications, because a superzoom drone can presumably map every pimple on your backside from a few blocks away, which is far enough that you can't hear it flying. You – or perhaps more pertinently, your local celebrity – will never know it's there. Mind you, this is such an early effort and the zoom range is so wide that we're not expecting any sort of optical excellence from the lens.

Walkera is offering the zoom camera as an option, and at this stage the gimbal-stabilized superzoom camera only shoots 1080p vision, while the fixed wide lens can shoot 4K. Like the DJI Inspire, the Voyager allows the camera to rotate to shoot in any direction, independent of which way the drone is facing. The landing gear also lifts out of the way to keep out of the shot.

Along with the camera, the Voyager 4 has another killer feature, particularly from a surveillance standpoint. It can be configured to operate using its own Wi-Fi network, which has a range around 1.5 km (0.9 mi) in the air, or the drone and the controller can use 4G wireless internet to communicate, giving it virtually unlimited control range.

Using 4G control, you could literally fly a drone in New York, controlling it from Beijing, if the data transmission is quick enough. That's an extraordinary new capability, although many countries have laws that specifically prevent pilots from flying unmanned aircraft beyond line of sight.

Voyager 4 is launching with a new controller, the Devo F18, which has dedicated flight mode switches. The Devo series controllers have typically been a little confusing and unrefined, so hopefully this iteration will make things clearer for non-hobbyist users.

Take a look at the product video below.

Source: Walkera, Gizmag

Read More

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 ! !

Read More

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

Read More

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 ! !

Read More

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

Read More

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 ! ! ! 

    

Read More