Toying with robotics – The New Indian Express

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Toys always grab the attention of the children. When the students of the College of Engineering Trivandrum went to Christ Nagar International School to introduce them to the world of technology, they carried with them some cool toys. These toys are no ordinary ones. RoboCet, the robotics club of CET made robotic arms that mimic hand gesture, snakebot that moves like a reptile, a smart phone controlled car etc. The response they got from the kids was amazing.

Define box before telling us to think out of the box? said Adhitya, a seventh standard student. The googly was aimed at team Drishti. The presenters faced a volley of questions about robots and their functioning. Scientific findings are the result of imagination and experimentation. Presenter Abhishek P James told them to focus on imagination and not to worry about the theory behind it. Among the students, the team found a meticulous mind in Hari Govind who solved a puzzle, one of connecting nine dots, in his 12th attempt.

When the students of class seven and eight assembled in the classroom on the second floor of the school, they thought it would be another lecture session with slides. All sat in the class with a bored look.

It took ice breaking sessions using puzzles to get enthusiastic responses from students. At this juncture, the presenters introduced robots and the entire class came forward crowding around it. Some of them quenched their curiosity by getting their hands on it. Finally when the session got over the students gave a 11 on a scale of 10 to the Drishti team.

The team will meet selected students during the summer vacations. Selection will be based on their eagerness to learn technology. The idea is to technically adopt a high school in Thiruvananthapuram for one year and conduct sessions on basic technology. A Drishti club will be formed in the school, said Shilendra.

The year-long project will have monthly classes for students of classes 8 and 9. At the end of the year the kids will be encouraged to come up with their own project. These projects will then be included in the school expo for the next years Drishti.

#drishti_to_school

It is a campaign initiated by students of CET to inspire school kids to create innovations using technology. The campaign has been organised as part of their annual tech fest Drishti.

The objective of this campaign is to introduce technology and its potential to school students. It also aims to identify the creative spark hidden inside each child.

Sushmitha S Das, Shilendra Soman and Abhishek P James, final year students of the college from electronics and mechanical engineering departments are the minds behind the initiative. They were assisted by the members of RoboCet- Don Dominic, Sebin, Ashike Thomas and Balu Sadanandan. The event was photo documented by Rohit Punnen.

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Toying with robotics - The New Indian Express