VIA Hosts Autonomous Car Kit Event for Kids in Taiwan
Following its successful launch in China in 2018, VIA introduced the VIA AI Learner Kit for the first time to a classroom of elementary-school students in Taiwan eager to learn how to program their very own robotic car just before the Lunar New Year holiday. The kit was inspired by VIA software engineer Vincent Chen, who realized the potential for AI technology in mainstream education after attending the China Children’s Computer Competition in Beijing two years ago, and is now being adopted by schools throughout China. The VIA AI Learner Kit is a highly-integrated hardware and software package that enables students to learn how to build and program a self-driving car. Its key components include an Arduino-compatible controller board, autonomous driving expansion board, camera, battery, sensors, and chassis, as well as a user-friendly software program that enables students program commands to activate the car, set its speed limits, and define the appropriate actions when the camera detects a stop sign, warning sign, traffic lights, or turning. A training manual is also provided plus a track for the car to drive around.The VIA Autonomous Car Kit Event


Wheels Meet Track
The cars were finally ready to go on the tracks. One by one, each team were given the chance to showcase their robot’s talent. Some robots responded perfectly to the traffic signs and kept in line with the track, while others didn’t run quite as smoothly as planned. The atmosphere shifted between loud cheers to tense silences, as everyone watched to see how well their robot was going to perform. With every failure evoking laughter, every success evoking everyone’s praise, and the intense uncertainty halting everyone’s next move, it was great to see how immersed both the students and engineers had become in the competition.
Interview with Vincent Chen
After the event, we were able to catch with the event’s organizer, Vincent Chen, and ask him a couple of quick questions. When asked why he thinks it’s important for children to learn about programming at this age, he responded: “Programming helps children to think in many ways and make rational decisions. It is beneficial in education today because of the potential in AI technologies.”As to where he sees the VIA AI Learning Kit going in the future, he said: “We are looking for opportunities to develop more platforms like the VIA AI Learner Kit to boost STEM education in schools and create software which is more intuitive and engaging for children to help them prepare for the challenges of the modern world.”
Overall, the event gave the students a real taste of working together as miniature engineers. From working with each other as team members to solving issues and fixing them with the senior engineers, it encouraged students to work collaboratively in tackling AI technology. With AI at the forefront of innovation and autonomous vehicles dominating the headlines, it provided a great way to give students hands-on experience with the technology in a a fun and immersive workshop, which not only taught them how to build and program their own car, but also how to have fun at the same time– bridging the gap between academic and intuitive learning. We are planning introduce the VIA Edge AI Learner Kit into global markets Q2 of 2019. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about the kits. We would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this initiative.