GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue 005

Learn
Buddhism
from Xian’er,
the Baby
Robot Monk
Photo by: Crowd Fund Insider
CUBETTO, A
PROGRAMMABLE
ROBOT FOR KIDS
This is what we get when we meet
Buddhism and technology.
A modern approach has been
made to introduce one of the
oldest religions in the world,
Buddhism, and that is through a
baby robot monk named Xian’er.
It’s more than just a cute robot as
it will promote the religion in its
own way.
The robot, which is dressed like
a Buddha but only standing two
feet tall and purely electronics,
has a touchscreen on his chest
which helps him answer 20
questions about Buddhism and its
lifestyle. It can also move around
in seven different ways adding to
the fancy of its appearance.
Xian’er is the brainchild of
36
JULY 2016
Future Cities & Robotics
Photo by: The Malay Mail Online
Master Xianfan who says that
this integration of science and
technology with spirituality is
but a natural alignment. He said,
“Science and Buddhism are not
opposing [or] contradicting,
and can be combined and
mutually compatible. Buddhism
is something that attaches much
importance to inner heart, and
pays attention to the individual’s
spiritual world.“ He added, “It is a
kind of elevated culture. Speaking
from this perspective, I think it
can satisfy the needs of many
people.”
The current robot monk is still up
for development to cater to more
functions. But if you want to have
an overview of Buddhism, Xian’er
will give you that just enough in
Beijing Longquan Temple.
Just when you think that the
kids of this era is all about
playing games on tablets or iPads
(where no fundamental skills are
developed), an educational toy is
created that aims to revolutionize
the way youngsters think and
learn. Introducing Cubetto by
Primo Toys, a playful wooden
robot that lets kids aged 3 and
above to learn programming and
STEM skills through storytelling.
Using its screenless blockbased
control panel and tactile
methods specifically designed for
young minds, the toy set is able
to introduce debugging, queue
and recursions which in effect
teaches the children to think
more logically.
Basically, the kids have to
command the cube robot to
move around obstacles to reach
its home. Think it's all too much
for the innocent minds to handle?
Not really because of the colorful,
creative displays and easy to
maneuver toy parts, Cubetto is
able to provide joyful learning
memories for the 'curious little
minds with big imaginations'.