Robots in a box win LAUNCHedu at SxSW

Elad Inbar’s RobotsLAB BOX was unanimously declared the winner of LAUNCHedu at SxSW. In it’s third year, the LAUNCHedu conference is held in Austin TX ahead of SxSW. LAUNCHedu focusses on bringing together education stakeholders and policy-makers with innovative early stage technologies and startups. The LAUNCHedu competition field started with 80 applicants and the other finalists ranged from tools to assist with college rankings and in examinations, to brain training, math and reading games. The final presentation was made in front of judges and a jam-packed room of educators on the morning of March 5.  As part of the Educator Insights panel that discussed all ten competing companies, all three panelists cited RobotsLAB BOX as their favorite. RobotsLAB was also the only finalist to showcase robots.

RobotsLAB BOX is a teaching aid designed to help educators demonstrate abstract concepts in math and science through the use of robots.  The kit helps teachers to demonstrate Algebra I&II, Physics, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Pre-Calculus’ core concepts using robots.  The kit comes with four different robots, along with an easy-to-use tablet that includes fifty hours of interactive lessons, in-class quizzes and instructional videos.

“We are thrilled to have been chosen as the winner of the LAUNCHedu Competition,” according to Elad Inbar, CEO of RobotsLAB.  “We are not only honored to be in the company of such a distinguished group of finalists, but sincerely gratified to be recognized for our efforts.  We fiercely believe that student interest and engagement improves when abstract subjects are presented in such an interesting and innovative way.”

Other distinguished finalists in the LAUNCHedu competition were Admittedly, which offers personalized school rankings for prospective college students, and Proctor.io, which is a software solution to validate student identity and activity during online exams.

RobotsLAB BOX was designed to help bring abstract concepts to life with the goal of improving math and science proficiency.  According to recent reports, only thirty-two percent of U.S. high school students were proficient in math upon graduation.  Meanwhile, sixty-two percent of U.S. jobs require their entry-level workers to be proficient in algebra.

RobotsLAB BOX is synergistic with President Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign. The Obama administration recently submitted the first budget request specifically for education technology in nearly twelve years.

About RobotsLAB: Working in the intersection of robotics and education, RobotsLAB is introducing drones, rovers and other robots as a teaching-aid for middle and high school math and science classrooms. Many STEM projects focus mainly on the STE-, neglecting the M(ath) component. Meanwhile mathematics proficiency in high school students has fallen to 32% — disqualifying many graduates from entry-level jobs. Our team of roboticists, engineers, teachers and professors are dedicated to fixing the education system using 21^st century technology, bringing math to life and preparing students for their future. RobotsLAB’s mission is to augment educators and engage students using the most innovative tools — driving excellence, and ensuring their future success. http://www.RobotsLAB.com

Andra Keay is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, founder of Women in Robotics and is a mentor, investor and advisor to startups, accelerators and think tanks, with a strong interest in commercializing socially positive robotics and AI.

Andra Keay is the Managing Director of Silicon Valley Robotics, founder of Women in Robotics and is a mentor, investor and advisor to startups, accelerators and think tanks, with a strong interest in commercializing socially positive robotics and AI.