The disposition of some people to smart homes and advancements recorded in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics brings to mind the saying by Arthur C. Clarke, an English science-fiction writer, futurist and inventor, which goes thus: “Magic is just science that we don’t understand yet.”
Poised with the aim of familiarising more people with the science behind the seemingly complex technologies, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Hub of the University of Lagos (NITHub) in collaboration with Bliss Team Educational Services (BredHub) gave hands-on training to interested participants from Thursday, January 19 to Friday, January 20, 2023.
The training, which was hosted in the beautiful, relaxing and inspiring ambience of NITHub, exposed both beginners and intermediate trainees across different age groups to the basics of Internet of Things (IoT) and Robotics.
The Hub made a call for applicants in December 2022 and received over three hundred (300) applications, out of which seventy-four (74) were selected for physical participation based on their availability and motivation. The remaining applicants got the opportunity to join the training virtually.
The training is aimed at helping participants with limited or zero background knowledge of IoT or Robotics to develop their critical thinking abilities, team work and problem-solving skills.
Participants were grouped into four (4) and each group was provided with an AI Transformer Workshop Kit to build prototypes of real-life robots. On the second day of the training, they were taught rudimentary coding skills to programme the robots they’ve built to perform different commands.
The training was facilitated by Ihugba Chiamaka Peace and Ebuehi Isaac Humble from Bliss Team Educational Services (BredHub).
NITDA IT Hub, UNILAG is a platform created to drive tech innovations by being the bridge between academia, industry, start-ups and investors interested in enhancing the digital economy of the nation.
BredHub is a Nigerian Registered Company set up to cater to school children’s desire for learning about Robotics and other new technology. The Hub is designed to provide a platform and opportunity for Nigerian and other Africans. They teach students from pre-school to tertiary institutions as well as run national and international competitions. BredHub fosters creativity and innovations through robotics.
