Terms like “Robotics Hobbyists” are becoming ubiquitous today. With the advent of informal learning or rather unconventional learning platforms, more and more students are trying out their hands at the hitherto unchartered areas of robotics and electronics. Nowhere is this change more pronounced than at Kidobotikz where you can find every other 8th grader working on an arduino board. The ones not working on the arduino are probably using a Viper or a Raspberry Pi. 

The result is an ever growing pool of Kidobotikzians who develop wonderful working models and robots, not to mention the accolades these people receive after one upping the college guys and the pros in the areas of robots. With us today is a robotics pro whose age does not do justice to his stature. He’s only in class 11 but has already logged up a half life’s worth of robotics here at Kidobotikz. Meet Abhishek, an old timer at Kidobotikz and a robotics pro who is our geek for the day. 

Hey Abishek! Can you introduce yourself to our readers?

Hi everyone! I’m Abishek Shankar, studying in class 11 at PSBB KK Nagar. 

Being an early student of Kidobotikz, can you describe your journey with Kidobotikz till now?

Well, I guess 3 years is a long time. I still remember why I joined Kidobotikz. I had a couple of friends who used to share the classroom benches with and roam around. When they joined this new place called Kidobotikz which was on the way from school, I got curious. Then I also joined here with the intention that I could hang out with them even after school. Today, as I look back, both of them have moved on with their academics catching up but for me robotics has become a very big part of my life. I had recently completed my Expert level and am awaiting the graduation day. Not just me, a lot has changed for Kidobotikz too. When I joined here, it was a small organization. Today, much to our delight they’ve scaled up well and are changing the lives of ever increasing number of students. I am happy for them and the entire community of Kidobotikzians.

Interesting. So, how do you think robotics has changed you?

Robotics has changed me in ways I could not have imagined. I see things differently now, I imagine about things in technical manner, the “how stuff works” part of it has become important to me now. I’ve done things that I never would’ve fathomed. I’ve taken part in Singapore Robo Games, IIT Shaastra and also won several events at NIT- Calicut. To me all this is quite amazing. More importantly, it has empowered me as a student.

How do your parents feel about you?

My parents have always been supportive of my choices. And when it comes to Kidobotikz, they’re outright supportive of what I do here. In the beginning when I used to participate in events, they were always encouraging me to participate in as many events as possible. Now that I know my way around robotics, the advise me to be picky with the events that I participate in, They ask me to participate in events where I have a sure shot of winning. This is an outlook that I am also inculcating in my participation.

So, why don’t you tell me about your most favourite roboting experience?

Well, if anything, it has to be the competition I took part in at NIT Calicut. It was a jolly good experience; one that I will always cherish. I managed to win a string of events - 1st Place in Line Tracer, 2nd in Robo Soccer, 3rd in Robo Sumo and two 5th places in Dirt Race and Project Expo events respectively.

Are there any favourite robots or dream robots of yours?

Well, my favourite robot has to be the Nao robot. On the other hand, I have a dream robot, one that i intend to design and develop. I want to develop a robot that can replace ball pickers at Tennis Courts. Playing tennis a lot has made me realise that the role of ball pickers is quite strenuous and it is time someone came up with an alternative.

That’s impressive. To sum up, I would just like to know as to what your future plans are?

Well I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur and now I have decided to that I will preneur in the field of robotics. As for my plans related to higher studies, I intend to go abroad and learn robotics at some of the universities renowned for their robotics programmes. So, working towards it.

Kidobotikz is a leading EdTech startup offering Robotics Courses for students. Moving from a Robotics training Institute which conducted Robotics classes to a “Learn Robotics Online”, Kidobotikz today has 4 levels of Kits which offer Robotics for Kids. If the question on your mind is “How to learn robotics”, then the answer is Kidobotikz.