The Ifs
– the robotic family that teaches programming to children
Original Title: Los Ifs, la familia de robots que enseña a programar a los niños
Website: http://theifs.cc/
Country: Spain
Category: Smart Learning
Project team: Fergus Reig García, Diana Blas Bretín, Luis Antonio Martín Nuez, Borja Latorre Garcés, Sara Escota Faure, Esther Borao Moros,
The Ifs is an educational game for children from 3 years of age, to learn programming using a new method of interaction without screens, called “tangible programming.”
The game contains a 4-member robotic family interacting with each other thanks to electronic playing cards. Each of the members has a different behaviour and a star movement. One of the cards indicates the condition (IF), and the other one indicates the consequence (THEN). In this way, the child decides how she wants the robots to interact. Discovering how they can act is part of the fun. Thanks to the sensors and actuators, the robots are able to vibrate, emit sounds, project images… and much more! Children can use all their creativity while developing logical thinking.
By playing The Ifs, children are no longer mere users of technology, becoming the inventors of the next world instead. A fun, engaging and playful project that encourages the very young to explore logical programming in a screen free entertaining manner.
Jury Evaluation:
“A fun, engaging and playful project that encourages the very young to learn and explore accessible and logical programming in a screen free entertaining manor. The jury appreciated the drive and goals of the team in developing and designing for this target audience and believe that it’s through innovative solutions such as this that the future generations will be encouraged to adopt these skills, understanding and creative thought that will be a necessity in the evolving world.” – EYA Jury Report
Mentor Statement:
“As a Product Manager at COPA-DATA I have been supporting our HR Team and local universities in their efforts to generate “new blood” for the IT Industry for several years. When I saw the approach and the results of “The Ifs” I was impressed by the idea and the concept. Especially to approach children at such an early age is a great step into the right direction. Also the modularity and the possibility to enhance the little robots in an easy way is exactly the way we also offer our solutions today to our customers. There is a lot we can learn from each other.”
Reinhard Mayr
Head of Information Security and Research Operation | COPA-DATA
Please note that all data refer to the time of winning the Award.