ROBOT CITY Erasmus Project

Project Title

ROBOT CITY

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Open and distance learning; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education

Project Summary

ROBOT CITY is a project that helps to encourage young people to explore the world of robotics. We have set up an interactive multimedia introduction to the world of robots and coding and provided a simulator to test how giving instructions to a robot works, as well as setting up a robot city, a virtual city that allows young people to showcase robotics projects. Additional materials have been provided, such as a manual and videos to be able to explain and use the Robot City application easily.
Europe, as a knowledge society, needs many more minds capable of building and developing new technologies, so it is very important to get young people interested in a topic like robotics. The report “New priorities for EU cooperation ET 2020” states that “knowing how to code is empowering. It allows us to understand the digital world we live in and to shape it. Basic coding skills are essential for accessing the jobs of tomorrow and today”. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to integrate robotics into national curricula and even if there is the will to do so, in most countries there are not enough teachers available with the skills to do so. Therefore, to keep up with the high demand for programmers and engineers, it is crucial to explore non-formal approaches to learning, especially if young people can be motivated to learn the required skills themselves and go beyond where teachers can take them. We have gone in this direction with the Robot City project, as we have created the app, available through the play store for free, tested it with teachers and young people and found that it perfectly meets the objectives of supporting robotics learning. It also allows self-managed learning, something that has been vital in this pandemic situation.
Now more than ever it has been demonstrated that we depend on computer tools more than we had thought and that it is necessary to work on them, especially to support young people in their learning.
With ROBOT CITY we are not just creating another curriculum to teach how to program robots. Instead, we focus on generating interest with an interactive video that allows viewers to choose a robot in a virtual world called ROBOT CITY and points them to a variety of sources to get involved in robotics. The simulator that has been created provides an opportunity for beginners to test ideas and practice their skills. It offers a way to enter the world of robotics without the monetary investments involved. Once students reach a point where they can build their own robots, the project provides them with a virtual city, a place to showcase the results of their work. In the virtual robot city, students can claim a space for their project, so that they can be inspired by the work of other young people in Europe. Both the simulator and the virtual city are available in the languages of the project partners: Spanish, German, Greek, Portuguese and Polish, as well as English, of course.

Project Website

https://teducativas.madeira.gov.pt/robotcity/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 139680 Eur

Project Coordinator

ASOCIACION CAZALLA-INTERCULTURAL & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Ingenious Knowledge GmbH
• DIGITAL IDEA
• Direção Regional de Educação
• FUNDACJA CENTRUM AKTYWNOSCI TWORCZEJ