IoT, which stands for the Internet of Things, are those embedded technologies integrated with the help of the Internet enhancing its computing capabilities with the use of data analytics to gather information related to our daily lives communicating with each other and making our lives easier. The objects will be able to collect our data, speak with each other and thus, they will do our work on our behalf and look after us.
Lets really think about the potential for a world filled with devices that can detect changing conditions and react so quickly – it makes the blink of an eye look like an eternity. You’re driving down the street on your way to work, and you’re using your car’s navigation system to give you turn-by-turn directions to cut down on commute time. Your car is communicating with the sensors embedded in the environment, telling it in the presence of other cars and bicyclists, even pedestrians crossing the street two blocks ahead. Your car is also in constant communication with the city’s traffic system. All these sensors are working together to give you a smooth commute experience, cutting down on the things that would frustrate you and funneling you through the best route, clearing your path of red lights and other delays. Isn’t that nice? This will be a world that doesn’t just react to what you need right now, it anticipates what you’re gonna need five minutes from now. It is not only gonna enter the lives of humans but also in industries like manufacturing, shipping, increasing their efficiency which lowers the costs. Improving medical outcomes, making shopping more enjoyable or optimizing energy generation and consumption.
The students at Softwarica were working on multiple projects related to the Internet of things. These projects were then reviewed and analyzed how they were being used in the world of IoT.
On the recent trip that we took to Butwal, Rupandehi, our main goal was to visit a few schools and colleges in the area, to connect with the students there, and to educate them on the topic around IOT, its scope, and how it is changing our everyday world around us. We had about ten projects with us, along with activities such as drones, 3D printing, legos, robots playing piano, guitars, logical games, etc. Some of the institutions we collaborated with were Kalika school, New Horizon College and School, and KNIT (Korea-Nepal Institute of Technology).
The first school we visited was Kalika school, and I would say that it was a successful start. It was amusing to see the response we got from the students; they were all very curious to learn about our projects. The students there were smart, and most were already familiar with IoT and had already worked on it before. The students had a lot of questions to ask, and they were all surprisingly amused to see what we had for them and the projects that we had. We had a great time answering all the questions, seeing the enthusiasm in the students to learn more about the topics we discussed, and how they were impacting our lives now and in the future. About 200-300 students visited our stall, and many of them shared how eager they were to learn and replicate the projects on their own. Some of the projects like 3D printing and legos were new to them so they were there asking us about its scope and admiring it.
The second school and college that we visited was New horizon college and new horizon Gautam Buddha school. A huge number of students attended the seminar. Like in the previous school they were amazed to see our projects. Disciplined and knows how to ask the right question. They wanted to know the values of our project and how far it can go? Its scope in our country. The number of students in this college was lesser in number but they were really talented and dedicated to what they want.
The third college that we visited was KNIT (Korea-Nepal Institute of Technology). As this college was already a technological institute, the session here was more like information exchange. We showed what we had – our projects, gave brief descriptions of individual projects and they asked the questions they had in their mind. We answered their question and the confusion they had. Later in their free time, they let us visit their college and gave some introduction to some study sections like automobiles which were new for us.
As the Internet of things was a new topic for most of the students, at first, their face was full of questions as they didn’t have a good idea of how far technology has taken the world to. But as we answered each of their questions, their confusions cleared like the clearing clouds in the sky. They were understanding where it is being used, for what? Why it is being our necessity and what roles are they gonna play in the near future. After hearing them, they were full of joy to work in different fields of the internet of things, its applications and contribute to these areas.
Everything went well. It was a nice experience for information exchange and seeing this kiddo grow up with a curious nature and so eager to learn about information technology. We were so happy to be showing our projects and all our hard work to them. We were excited as much as they were excited to see us and our project. This experience motivated u us to work more and visit more colleges. We wanted to visit more schools but because of the time limitation, we couldn’t. I really hope to participate in this kind of educational tour more to share information related to technologies in different parts of Nepal.