Adult Ukrainians to be taught to make robots

IT-technologies are burgeoning in Ukraine. More and more people wish to draw up new projects in this field. Moreover, various Ukrainian projects in robotics have been on the rise lately. And while earlier you could learn this on your own, now you can do this at specialized centers based on the world-famous Lego Education. Yet Kharkiv-based technologists and IT specialists have decided to set up a course of their own for adults. “We set up courses for adults and for children at the request of students and parents. At first we just practiced robotics as a hobby and had no idea of establishing a training center and teaching people. But, designing new interesting robots, we attracted the attention of people. They began to come to us for consultations,” says Oleksii Reznychenko, director of the Ukrainian Center of Robotics (Boteon). In his words, all his team still has to do is make the studies systemic, structuralize the courses and divide them by level. Then they are going to set up a franchise and spread knowledge in this way. So, now one can do a course not only in Kharkiv, but also in Kyiv.

The robotics center itself was set up two years ago by young researchers on the basis of the Kharkiv University of Radio Electronics.

Boteon says there are no analogues to Lego Education-based educational centers. “The well-known STEP Computer Academy is only taking the first steps in robotics. We do not take into account large Lego Education-based educational centers, for they are beyond comparison. Why? Just because there are no competitors at the moment. When we grow up, we’ll compete with them as equals,” Reznychenko says.

According to center’s director, it is very important now for Ukraine to develop robots. “Robotics is a relatively new IT branch. For this very reason, we have every chance to take a leading position on the development and outsourcing market. Besides, this country badly needs robotics engineers to develop up-to-date sophisticated production facilities. Any country needs this, for non-robotized production processes are obsolete today and manual labor cannot compete with a machine by a number of characteristics. Engineering, especially such comprehensive fields as robotics, is the future of every Ukrainian on both the domestic and the foreign market of labor,” he says.

Besides, if you have the basic skills of designing, you can also make everyday-use items, such as a flower watering can, a hazardous air pollutants control device, a burglar alarm, and other elements of a robotized “smart” house.