THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a move to familiarise students in the state with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and Internet of Things (IoT), the general education department has deployed an additional 20,000 robotic kits in government and aided high schools.
With the latest deployment, carried out through Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), the total number of kits has touched 29,000. Students can build prototypes of devices such as traffic signals, street lights, electronic voting machines and walking sticks by utilising these kits. The programming aspects promote logical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills among children.
General Education Minister V Sivankutty will formally announce the induction of the robotic kits at the Little KITEs state camp to commence on February 8. The event will include an exhibition of student-created robotic projects. MLA Kadakampally Surendran, principal secretary (general education) Rani George, KITE CEO K Anvar Sadath, and ICFOSS Director T T Sunil will also be present.
Following the distribution of 9,000 kits in 2022, KITE has added 20,000 more kits this year with CSR support. While Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. provided 8,475 kits, Cochin Shipyard Ltd. contributed 4,615, and QBurst Technologies and Canara Bank donated 1,000 kits each.
The open-hardware kits include Arduino Uno R3, LEDs, mini servo motors, LDRs, light and IR sensor modules, breadboards, buzzer modules, push-button switches, and resistors. Costing under `1,000 per kit, they allow schools to easily obtain replacement parts.
Little KITEs, the country’s largest student ICT network, engages 1.8 lakh students annually and played a key role in the initiative. Within the programme, 66,737 Class 9 students participated in school-level camps, 15,668 in sub-district camps, and 1,253 in district-level camps.
The camp will feature sessions with experts such as Prahlad Vadakkepat, Sunil Prabhakar, and Madhu K S. Students will visit facilities specialising in drone technology, assistive technology, 3D printing, media production, and animation.