This Enterprising Lady Takes AI and Robotics to Rural TN

Suriya Prabha started to take a liking to artificial intelligence (AI) when she saw how students abroad are trained in AI. She soon developed a passion to learn AI and started learning software coding online. Her interest in AI further propelled her to launch a start-up to introduce awareness about electronics, computer science and robotics technology to students in government schools. They cover three areas — code the robots, become a robot and experience AI. Training Method And Reach Prabha teaches machine learning and AI to middle school children in rural Tamil Nadu through a play-way teaching method to create a natural interest in learning and make it easy to understand. She informed that there is a hunger in the rural kids to know the nuances of technology. So far, Prabha has trained more than 25,000 students in 25 government-run schools in remote areas of Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Madurai and Theni districts. To implement the project, Prabha formed a team of six members. The team assigns fun projects to the students who use AI developer kits to get trained in AI. Prabha said that they try to evoke an interest in the kids for robotics by using tech toys such as Kano, Sphero, Mekamon, Cozmo, Littlebit and Microbit. Technology Can Make Communities Better Prabha believes that technology can be used as a tool to solve problems in villages and could make the community better. To achieve this aim, she is on a mission to empower children from rural regions with technical skills.