The Roberta Approach

Robots are an ideal educational tool for a hands-on introduction to technology. By designing, constructing, programming and testing mobile robots, children learn the basic concepts of today’s technical systems. In a playful approach, they learn to handle sensors, motors, programs and a graphical software development environment. These are the main technical topics of Roberta courses. In addition, they learn that constructing technical systems is a creative process that is not easy but strengthens their self-confidence in their own technical skills. This helps them to gain knowledge in ICT, electrical engineering, mechanics and robotics.

Constructing and using robots is an ideal tool to communicate knowledge that is important for understanding technical problems, but also philosophical questions, such as those concerning intelligence and autonomy of artificial systems. A further major element of Roberta courses is teamwork. A group of two to three children commonly work on their robot. This develops their teamworking skills.

The attractiveness of Roberta courses helps to overcome inhibitions, because the playful approach reduces skepticism. In addition, children become fascinated by robot development, which encourages their interest in technical subjects and motivates them to learn more.