KITE completes distribution of 29,000 robotic kits in State’s high schools

Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), the technology wing of the State’s General Education department, has distributed 29,000 robotic kits in high schools across Kerala, introducing students to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty will make the announcement at the inauguration of a State camp of Little KITEs on the ICFOSS campus at Karyavattom here on Saturday. The event will include an exhibition of student-created robotic projects. Kadakampally Surendran, MLA; General Education Principal Secretary Rani George; KITE CEO K. Anvar Sadath; and ICFOSS director T.T. Sunil will be present.

Following the distribution of 9,000 robotic kits in 2022, KITE has deployed 20,000 more kits this year with corporate social responsibility (CSR) support. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. provided 8,475 kits, Cochin Shipyard Ltd. contributed 4,615, and QBurst Technologies and Canara Bank donated 1,000 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. They cost less than ₹1,000 a kit and school can easily obtain replacement parts. Students can build prototypes of devices such as traffic signals, street lights, electronic voting machines (EVMs), and walking sticks using the kits. The programming aspect promotes logical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills.

Little KITEs, the country’s largest student information and communications technology (ICT) network that engages 1.8 lakh students annually, played a key role in this initiative. Within the programme, 66,737 Class IX students participated in school-level camps, 15,668 in sub-district camps, and 1,253 in district-level camps. A total of 123 students will attend the State camp on Saturday and Sunday, a statement from KITE said.

Visit to facilities

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. Additionally, student-created animations will be previewed. On the second day, animators Felix Devasya and Sudheer P.Y. and academic Achuthsankar S. Nair will interact with students.