Intelligent Robotics
Intelligent Robotics is one of the greatest frontiers of modern science. Even though computers have had a very big impact on modern society, they are nevertheless limited to the virtual world.

Intelligent robotics holds the promise of allowing computers to interact with the real world. Instead of being limited to pushing numbers around in a spreadsheet, intelligent robots will be able to push your socks out of the way when vacuuming your house or push debris out of the way to help rescuers (human or robots) reach a victim in a collapsed building.

Research into the way that robots can deal with the physical world will allow us to better understand the way the human brain works and understands the world.

Small intelligent robots present a huge untapped market. Many countries, especially in Asia, have realized this and started large research projects in all areas of intelligent robotics. The United Nations research report expects robotics to be a multi-billion dollar market over the following years.

Robotics Education
For this reason alone it is important to educate the young generation of today in intelligent robotics. Building a robot allows children to apply or extend their knowledge of physics, mathematics, and programming. Furthermore, robotics projects provide a great opportunity for many other life lessons: team work, project planning, and scientific writing.

It is long known in educational sciences that one of the best ways of learning is through building an artifact with your own hands (constructionism); Robotics encourages deeper learning and understanding through the act of constructing a robot.

Kaimax KRC kit
To encourage children to build and experiment with robots, a suitable robotics kit is needed.

The Kaimax KRC kit is a next generation robotics kit that allows children to build more complex and intelligent robots. Instead of only three motors, the Kaimax KRC kit allows one to control a whopping 10 actuators including digital outputs, motor drivers, and RC servos. Similarly, the KRC kit has six inputs.

The KRC kit comes with an impressive array of sensors including light sensors (1), touch sensors (1), infrared distance sensors (2), microphones (1), and LEDs (2). All of those use the standard KRC kit connector which means that a robot can be changed by inserting a sensor into the connector. There is no need to solder.

The KRC kit also allows one to program the robot using a simple intuitive visual programming language suitable for young children (8+ years), but allows the use of more complex programming languages and operating systems for older children.

The KRC kit provides almost unlimited extendability. My students and I have used the KRC kit in a graduate course at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. We are greatly impressed with the unparallelled power and flexibility of the KRC kit. We have built several robots from simple line trackers to a small humanoid robot. The KRC kit allows one to add powerful sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes.

About the Author
Dr. Jacky Baltes was born in Munich, Germany. He received his Ph.D. in the area of Artificial Intelligence from the University of Calgary, Canada in 1996.

From 1996 to 2002 he worked as a Senior Lecturer for the Department of Computer Science at the University Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Since 2002, Dr. Baltes is an Associate Professor of Computer Science and an adjunct Associate Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

Dr. Baltes' research interests are intelligent mobile robotics including artificial intelligence and machine learning. Dr. Baltes and his students participated with several teams at international robotic competitions since 1998.

He participated on the rules committee for several robotic competitions and is also the organizing chair (2002 - 2005) of the FIRA HuroSot.