HILAL BHAT
Kerala takes a giant leap in education by introducing India’s first Artificially Intelligent Teacher , “IRIS” , which adds a new dimension to classroom dynamics. This unconventional development has finally made the dream come true setting a new milestone in educational innovation. It is aimed to transform and redefine the educational landscape in India by revolutionizing the learning experience of students that matches the standards of joyful-learning. This remarkable educator caters to individual needs and preferences of the students thereby offering a linguistic diversity and being truly student centric to the tune of their imagination. It empowers educators to deliver engaging and effective lessons like never before. It effortlessly explains everything under the sun and beyond. Given it’s innovatively engaging principle it can result in zero absentees among the students.Beyond education the humanoid robot serves as a prototype of AI Application in other fields like hospital assistance as well.However , it lacks the true emotional navona though it makes comfortable human gestures.Well , teachers have to take a position and keep their relevance intact by constantly stealing their space in this modern educational world. That is how the human spirit must prevail over technology.
IRIS is built as a part of Atal Tinkering labs , a 2021 project by NITI Aayog ( erstwhile planning commission of India ).Director Space Physics Laboratory of VSSC , Dr. K Rajeev inaugurated and unveiled it in Kerala ‘s KTCT Higher Secondary School in Thiruvananthapuram. The initiative is designed to boost extracurricular activities in schools.IRIS is powered by robotics based on generative AI technology with a dedicated Intel Processor and a coprocessor , designed and created by Maker labs EduTech private limited. For added mobility the robot is equipped with 4-Wheel chassis. Its hands feature 5 DOF each enabling it to use its hands. The teacher can move, interact, teach and answer the students questions in the subjects from nursery to 12th class. It is equipped to respond, to provide explanations and deliver educational content having proficiency in 3 languages – English , Hindi and Malayalam. Developers Plan is to expand it to over 20 languages. Students can interact with it through an Android Application. IRIS acts as an AI voice-controlled assistant.Intrestingly it has the ability to block inappropriate content like drugs and violence. According to Maker labs , IRIS embodies a commitment to push the boundaries of what is possible , inspiring confidence in more innovations to come.
As teachers we should offer a rousing welcome to this cool-tech teacher yet we must ask certain questions to ourselves, challenging our proficiency to keep our pace with technology. As is said by Arthur George Couros in his book, “The Innovators Mindset” , “ Technology will never replace great teachers but technology in the hands of great teachers is transformational.” Teachers must have an upper hand in the teaching learning processes. They must be pro-actively operative in using technology as a tool or else technology will ignore0000000……………… them completely. That is to say teachers have to become part of the growing innovative system or else system will automatically throw them out rendering them irrelevant. Teachers have to keep their spirit alive and convert this challenge into a tool. It should be Teachers and Technology going hand in hand and that will make all the difference.
Hilal Ahmad Bhat ( Biotech ) is a writer , columnist and an analyst.He can be mailed at biotechilal@gmail.com.
