The Challenge
SoftBank Robotics America, a worldwide-leader in robotics solutions, partnered with Finger Food to create Tethys, a platform designed to teach students how to code. The platform needs to bridge the gap between visual programming and full script development in an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The solution needs to ensure that students are able to receive immediate feedback to facilitate learning, problem-solving, and iteration.
The Solution
Finger Food built a visual flow-programming platform which introduces non-programmers to scripting with robots. With this platform, students create programs using high-level functions in the form of boxes they wire together and run. When running their program, they receive immediate feedback on a virtual Pepper robot straight from their browser window.
The Result
In the short-term, Finger Food and SoftBank Robotics America are exposing students to the world of coding robotics. In the long-term, both groups are seeking to prepare a new generation for the challenges of a rapidly changing automated workforce.