Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 16 : Robotics education in Kerala schools is set for a major upgrade with the Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE), the technology arm of the General Education Department, inviting tenders for 5,000 advanced robotic kits.

The initiative will benefit all high schools with active Little KITEs units, further expanding hands-on STEM learning for students.

KITE had earlier distributed 29,000 basic robotics kits containing around 15 components to schools.

Building on that success, the new advanced kits will provide students with more powerful tools to design innovative projects.

From this academic year, robotics has been formally included in the ICT curriculum for over four lakh Class 10 students.

The upgraded kits come with an ESP32 Devkit v1 board as the microcontroller, alongside a wide range of sensors such as ultrasonic distance, soil moisture, PIR motion, and line-tracking sensors.

Each set also includes a 4WD smart car chassis kit, a submersible mini water pump, and a rechargeable Li-ion battery pack, enabling students to create projects that combine electronics, coding, and real-world applications.

Students will be able to develop complex models such as Rover Robots, automatic plant watering systems, motion-activated security alarms, blind assistive walking sticks, mini weather monitoring systems, and air quality checkers.

The kits also help students gain practical experience in circuit design, troubleshooting, and programming in block coding, Python, and C.

The pre-bid meeting for the tender concluded on Monday, and the last date for submission through the Kerala e-tender portal is September 25, 2025.

'The enthusiasm shown by students and teachers for our robotics curriculum has been overwhelming. This new tender for advanced kits is a direct response to that success and reflects our commitment to nurturing future innovators,' said K. Anvar Sadath, CEO of KITE.

He added that the new Little KITEs curriculum, which will integrate the advanced kits, is expected to roll out by December 2025, with a separate training module to be developed.

/IANS