On Monday, a deep-tech start-up called CYRAN from the Delhi campus of IIT introduced a do-it-yourself (DIY) kit to help young Indian techies learn how to build booming Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled technologies.
The interactive invention is named "BUDDHI AI DIY Kit". While the word "Buddhi" translates to "brain" in the Hindi language, the start-up's nomenclature defines BUDDHI as "Build, Understand, Design, Deploy Human-like Intelligence”. The educational kit can be used to quickly learn the basics of AI and build AI based solutions for real-world problems without any prior domain knowledge or training.
"IIT Delhi is taking centre stage in Artificial Intelligence (AI) related Research and Development in the country. Development in indigenised AI hardware and software is critical. BUDDHI AI DIY Kit is one such initiative by the IIT Delhi", said Professor V. Ramgopal Rao, director, IIT Delhi.
The kit comes with AI training applications and real-world AI actuation circuit boards powered by AI computing-engines. In addition, the DIY kit, also brings along an AI handbook, practical DIY AI projects, lessons, exercises, presentations, and videos.
"The motivation behind BUDDHI kit is to help young school students learn the practical aspects of a complex topic like AI in a friendly and simple manner", said Manan Suri, professor, IIT Delhi.
Recently, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) added AI as a subject in the school curriculum in India, and the BUDDHI AI DIY kit is in alignment with the syllabus.
As part of the first launch phase, the AI DIY kits along with its accompanying content will be provided to schools, makers-spaces, tinkering-labs, education related NGOs, government bodies, corporations, as well as entities involved with AI-education and skilling.
Earlier, in December, IIT kick-started the placement process for its students across its numerous campuses in India, where US-based tech and auto majors have surfaced as prominent recruiters, offering hefty packages of up to $140,000 to Indian students.
The IIT colleges are autonomous public institutes of higher education, governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 which declared them institutions of national importance and established their powers, duties, and framework for governance.
