From the university student competition to the K12 competition, behind it is actually the perfection of the science and technology AI education system and the big change in business philosophy.
After the first snowfall in Beijing, the China Science and Technology Museum was brightly lit. Teenagers and girls in blue uniforms gathered seriously in front of the stage and manipulated the robots on the court to complete various complex actions. Parents crowded outside the field kept taking pictures, staring nervously at the colorful “players” on the pale green table. In the end, the Turing Eagles team in Baoding, Hebei won the primary school championship. After winning, the group of children under 10 raised cheering cheers.
This is the first year finals of Robo Genius Global Youth Robot Challenge under Ubisoft. Since its launch, Robo Genius has been held in more than 30 cities at home and abroad, attracting nearly 3,000 teams to participate, covering More than 6000 primary and secondary school students.
Robot competitions are nothing new. There are the World Olympic Robotics Competition WRO, which began in 1997, and FIRST Tech Competition and FIRST Robotics Competition, a non-profit organization FIRST in the United States. And FLL for Lego is also widely recognized.
In China, in addition to official competitions, along with entrepreneurial stars such as Ubisoft, DJI, Capability Storm, and Craftsman Club, plus educational robots, commercial companies have begun to participate in organizing various events.
Some expensive competitions often cost up to ten million yuan at a time. For a commercial company, sponsor advertising and encouraging players to purchase their own hardware products are the most reasonable choices, so many companies use this competition as their own. “Products” to operate.
Ubisoft is not the same. “We don’t want to make the event into a single product, it is not a profitable competition.” Zhong Yong, senior vice president of Ubisoft and head of the product and solution department, said in an interview.
Youbixuan has been involved in robotics competitions since 2016. In the early stage, they cut in from college students and graduate students, held the IEEE Robotics Design Competition, and jointly conducted RISS with Carnegie Mellon University for three consecutive years from 2016 to 2019. Robot Challenge. It wasn’t until this year that Robo Genius for teens began.
Walking from college competitionTo the K12 competition, behind it is actually the perfection of the science and technology AI education system and the great change in business philosophy.
Zhong Yong said, “The competition is a very important part of the entire education ecosystem. You must do it, even if you spend a lot of money on it. “So Ubiquitex” has not considered the issue of whether it is profitable or not from pure events. “
From the competition itself, the Robo Genius Global Youth Robot Challenge hopes to use programming skills and robots as carriers to solve problems in real-life scenarios. In addition to achieving a fixed competitive goal, I also hope that the players can apply what they have learned.
Puzzling wins and losses “It’s not that we go to learn robots, or to learn the desired results in AI.” Zhong Yong said. This is also the understanding of Ubisoft’s AI education, and it is also an understanding of the ancient industry of “education”.
The concept of “educating people first” and “learning with competitions” makes Ubisoft as a business company, and the logic of holding a competition that is not for profit is sufficient.
Ubisoft hopes that through competitions, more students, parents, and schools can learn about educational robots, improve their awareness of AI education, and also provide the export of school AI education results.
This has become an important part of the entire education ecology of Ubisoft, and the key to completing the closed loop.
In fact, Ubisoft has a big picture.
It has only been 4 or 5 years for AI to enter the public’s perspective, but the national level has already begun action. In July 2017, the State Council issued the “New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan”, which proposed to promote programming and artificial The rise of intelligence is a national development strategy, and it is clearly stated that a smart education project for all should be gradually implemented, artificial intelligence-related courses should be set at the elementary and middle school level, and programming education should be gradually promoted.
Some data show that approximately 67.5% of children in the K12 stage in the United States have received online programming education. Taking statistics from Scratch, the world ’s leading programming language for children, as an example, the U.S. market has the highest penetration rate of 44.80%, and the United Kingdom has 9.31%, China is only 0.96%.
From a commercial perspective, this is undoubtedly a market worth more than 100 billion yuan. For educational robots alone, it is conservatively estimated to cover 280,000 schools and 500,000 classrooms.
But this is also a pioneering market. The domestic AI education for young people has just begun. The country has no unified outline for reference. The B-side market is indeterminate and the C-side market is mixed.
Startups and education companies, large and small, have begun to break into the track, and have launched their own solutions.
However, education belongs to the century-old treeman. Zhong Yong stated on many occasions that “AI education is not a vent”. Any short-term rushing will eventually hurt the industry and the chaser. Therefore, Youbixuan Technology is one of the few companies that started from scratch and cooperated with the industry in depth to build a complete set of education ecology. In fact, they chose to open the country little by little, the most difficult way.
Before that, Youbixuan took a detour.
From engineer to educator
Ubitech has cut into the intelligent robot market with the development of servo servos. Zhong Yong is frank. At the beginning, the company entered the education market with hardware products instead of thinking about the essence of AI education.
In 2016, Ubisoft launched Jimu Robot, an intelligent programming educational robot product. But the team of engineers can’t get rid of product-oriented thinking habits. Their instinct is how to sell robots to users. Zhong Yong acknowledged that Ubisoft had “(originally) followed other people ’s ideas, and later met a group of people who really knew education” before turning around.
In Zhong Yong’s view, if you fall into product thinking, the research and development is just a “teaching aid”, there is no threshold, it is easy to be replaced by other manufacturers. “Why use your product? Why can’t you use someone else?”
Based on such torture, 2018 Ubisoft has begun to transform towards building an education platform.
Zhong Yong often refers to the words of Soviet educator Suhomlinski: “Man is the highest value of an educator.” People-oriented, find the starting point of education that is most in line with human nature. For K12 education objects, in addition to the immediate needs of the exam, interest and sense of achievement are the starting points that are most in line with the human nature of children.
Robo Genius is also based on this most basic consideration.
Artificial intelligence and robotics are relatively difficult to understand, and it is difficult for children to keep their attention. Without the support of scene interaction, their boredom is reasonable. Obviously, being able to get together with your peers on the field to exchange various jargon,Manipulating robots to make complicated actions will undoubtedly inspire a child to have fun with AI theory and programming.
At the same time, the robot competition also assumes the role of “stage test”. At present, AI education does not have a mature teaching effect assessment system, and it lacks quantifiable learning quality assessment indicators. If there is no competition for periodic testing, students do not know where the blind spots and weak areas are, without goals, and will soon lose their motivation to continue learning.
Compared to WRO and other competitive competitions, there are strict rules. Zhong Yong’s requirements for the setting of Robo Genius’ competition system are to be flexible enough. I hope to make a competition with strict rules, but prefer to build a platform for communication.
In addition to completing the education closed loop of Ubisoft, Robo Genius is also an important endorsement for Ubisoft to enter the B- and G-end markets. At the K12 stage, the robotics and artificial intelligence disciplines are not included in the compulsory subjects of elementary and secondary schools, and they have no substantial help for further education. The evaluation and inspection of the educational achievements in schools can only rely on relevant competition results. Robo Genius has also been recognized by authoritative organizations. This finals is a marriage with the China Science and Technology Museum. The China Science and Technology Museum is the only national comprehensive science and technology museum in China. Its official endorsement will undoubtedly increase the authority and dissemination potential of Robo Genius.
At the same time, the Robo Genius Finals has also become an important part of the third “big country and small craftsman” event of the China Science and Technology Museum. education. “Events can cultivate children’s ability to work in teams, adapt to situations, and deal with setbacks. This is a psychological skill that they cannot master in school books,” said Su Qing, Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the China Science and Technology Museum.
When the school’s awareness of the AI curriculum is still not clear enough, it will be the first to start a benchmarking contest, which will make it easier for the users of the B-end to seize the mind and establish the brand recognition as soon as possible. In the end, “we want to change China’s original so-called game system or form of activity.” Zhong Yong said.
What is qualified AI education?
“AI + education” and “education + AI” are actually two completely different logics. Zhong Yong has his understanding of this.
For the ever-popular “In terms of “Internet +”, “Internet empowerment” and so on, Zhong Yong believes that when the Internet or AI and robots have sufficient productivity, they can change the production relationship and achieve the so-called “empowerment”. Before that, “You definitely want to put the industry first”, that is, compared with “AI + industry” and “robot + industry”, the path of “industry + AI” and “industry + robot” with industry as the starting point is more It works.
This is also the basic logic of Ubisoft’s transformation in education ecology.
Specifically to “education + AI”, Zhong Yong believes that from the goal of educating people, national standards, teaching aids, to teaching aids, to teacher training, this is a complete system. Zhong Yong said, “In this whole set of chains, any one of the links can be used as one or two companies, which can be very large.”
But the valuation has reached 5 billion U.S. dollars, which is equivalent to the 5 must-have technologies of unicorn companies. It wants to open up the entire chain and build the entire platform of AI education.
Ubitech not only wants to be a leader in AI education in the future, but also wants to become a standard maker or participant in AI education.
So in the chaotic period of vast space but far from stereotypes, you must choose the scientific, technological, differentiated, customized, and systematic education ecology to be the deepest and widest moat.
In fact, Ubisoft has already opened the door in the industry. Ubisoft has divided the entire AI education system into 27 scenarios from the two dimensions of age and scene, from kindergarten to graduate students. In the nine age levels of the stage, three scenes are divided into in-school teaching (to G), out-of-school training (to B), and home education (to C). The age and the scene match each other.
In each of the segmented scenarios, the AI education solution corresponding to Ubisoft includes “textbook + hardware and software + teachers + AI laboratory construction + competition”. This is a complete, field-proven end-to-end 端 计划。 End program.
In each of these sections, the education concept of Ubisoft’s “people-oriented” education has been deeply imprinted.
In terms of teaching materials, Ubisoft has found that there are currently pain points in the textbooks of AI education. In conjunction with East China Normal University Press, it has launched an artificial intelligence education textbook, “Smart Future Creators on AI-A Series of Excellent Courses on Artificial Intelligence in Primary and Secondary Schools.” “. This general textbook covers all courses from elementary school to high school. The junior high school curriculum involves the basic theory of humanoid robots. The primary school curriculum involves mechanics, mathematics, and mathematics.Learn other knowledge, high school will teach students Python programming, open source motherboard applications, deformation robot construction.
At present, more than a hundred primary and secondary schools have introduced this set of teaching materials as elective or school-based courses, and they will be officially launched this spring semester.
Textbooks are only a part of Ubisoft’s science and technology education system. The most important thing in this system is the cultivation of students’ thinking patterns. In Zhong Yong’s mind, robots are just one aspect of AI education. “Our definition of education is how to keep modules complete.”
Therefore, in terms of robot products, Ubisoft’s products and courses have strong open source. The middle school uKit Explore is compatible with the Arduino open source platform and also has a rich expansion interface. For Yanshee launched by high school and college students, in addition to using the Raspberry Pi open hardware platform architecture, it also supports a variety of open source sensor packages . In this way, students learn the programming principles behind them, and they can learn by analogy, not just learn to manipulate the robots of Ubisoft. Even in future Robo Genius competitions, robots from other manufacturers can be used.
Because Ubisoft has a far-reaching plan than other manufacturers, they dare to make a re-injection. According to Zhong Yong, Ubisoft has invested in a professional education company Ubisoft. The two companies have a total of five or six. A team of 100 people is dedicated to education, and two-thirds of them are teaching and research and operation teams. They are responsible for the research and development of courses, the establishment of a teacher training system, the delivery and implementation of school operations.
This is indeed quite a “heavy” mode of operation. As far as teachers are concerned, the current AI education teachers are mixed, and many teachers only have vague concepts and superficial knowledge of AI. Therefore, Youbixuan Technology has joined the teacher training. All teachers who teach AI education courses must be certified by Youbixuan Technology. At the same time, the company cooperates with relevant institutions to launch national and international certified teacher qualifications.
Operation is also the core difference of Ubisoft running ahead of many competitors. Ubisoft has pioneered the regionalization of “standard school + central school + artificial intelligence base” based on the understanding of the imbalance in the development of individual education. Gradient operation system. This is a pyramid-shaped structure. The standard school provides general education courses. The central school joins the extension courses, which is suitable for higher-level students. If there are very outstanding students, you can go to the artificial intelligence base to learn more.
As an open-operation education platform, Ubitus Technology acts as a linker and participant. For Robo Genius, the finals are hosted by China Science and Technology Museum, the top platform of popular science education, co-organized by Ubiquitous Technology and Keqi Future, and the Maker Planet as the supporting unit. “In the future, the China Science and Technology Museum will combine the rich experience in the field of science education with high-quality partners such as Ubisoft, so that artificial intelligence and robots can play a greater value in science education for young people.”Su Qing looks like this.
It can be imagined that on the track of AI education, there will be more old-school training institutions and new and up-and-coming artificial intelligence companies. When the C-end market is not warming up, each school will become a must. Ground. Compared with the first two, Ubisoft has invested heavily in education and has been cultivating technology for many years, forming a mature AI education ecosystem. This is the highest barrier that Zhongyong believes Ubisoft has. At least for now, this has clear advantages. “Few players in the industry are able to carry out such a complete ecological construction and accumulation as Ubisoft.” Zhong Yong said, “At least it is said that other companies are learning from us. From this point, we can see that We have been recognized by the industry. “
But it is undeniable that Ubisoft must not take it lightly until it has enough distance from the opponent.
“AI + education” and “education + AI” are actually two completely different logics. Zhong Yong has his understanding of this.
For the ever-popular “In terms of “Internet +”, “Internet empowerment” and so on, Zhong Yong believes that when the Internet or AI and robots have sufficient productivity, they can change the production relationship and achieve the so-called “empowerment”. Before that, “You definitely want to put the industry first”, that is, compared with “AI + industry” and “robot + industry”, the path of “industry + AI” and “industry + robot” with industry as the starting point is more It works.
This is also the basic logic of Ubisoft’s transformation in education ecology.
Specifically to “education + AI”, Zhong Yong believes that from the goal of educating people, national standards, teaching aids, to teaching aids, to teacher training, this is a complete system. Zhong Yong said, “In this whole set of chains, any one of the links can be used as one or two companies, which can be very large.”
But the valuation has reached 5 billion U.S. dollars, which is equivalent to the 5 must-have technologies of unicorn companies. It wants to open up the entire chain and build the entire platform of AI education.
Ubitech not only wants to be a leader in AI education in the future, but also wants to become a standard maker or participant in AI education.
So in the chaotic period of vast space but far from stereotypes, you must choose the scientific, technological, differentiated, customized, and systematic education ecology to be the deepest and widest moat.
In fact, Ubisoft has already opened the door in the industry. Ubisoft has divided the entire AI education system into 27 scenarios from the two dimensions of age and scene, from kindergarten to graduate students. In the nine age levels of the stage, three scenes are divided into in-school teaching (to G), out-of-school training (to B), and home education (to C). The age and the scene match each other.
In each of the segmented scenarios, the AI education solution corresponding to Ubisoft includes “textbook + hardware and software + teachers + AI laboratory construction + competition”. This is a complete, field-proven end-to-end 端 计划。 End program.
In each of these sections, the education concept of Ubisoft’s “people-oriented” education has been deeply imprinted.
In terms of teaching materials, Ubisoft has found that there are currently pain points in the textbooks of AI education. In conjunction with East China Normal University Press, it has launched an artificial intelligence education textbook, “Smart Future Creators on AI-A Series of Excellent Courses on Artificial Intelligence in Primary and Secondary Schools.” “. This general textbook covers all courses from elementary school to high school. The junior high school curriculum involves the basic theory of humanoid robots. The primary school curriculum involves mechanics, mathematics, and mathematics.Learn other knowledge, high school will teach students Python programming, open source motherboard applications, deformation robot construction.
At present, more than a hundred primary and secondary schools have introduced this set of teaching materials as elective or school-based courses, and they will be officially launched this spring semester.
Textbooks are only a part of Ubisoft’s science and technology education system. The most important thing in this system is the cultivation of students’ thinking patterns. In Zhong Yong’s mind, robots are just one aspect of AI education. “Our definition of education is how to keep modules complete.”
Therefore, in terms of robot products, Ubisoft’s products and courses have strong open source. The middle school uKit Explore is compatible with the Arduino open source platform and also has a rich expansion interface. For Yanshee launched by high school and college students, in addition to using the Raspberry Pi open hardware platform architecture, it also supports a variety of open source sensor packages . In this way, students learn the programming principles behind them, and they can learn by analogy, not just learn to manipulate the robots of Ubisoft. Even in future Robo Genius competitions, robots from other manufacturers can be used.
Because Ubisoft has a far-reaching plan than other manufacturers, they dare to make a re-injection. According to Zhong Yong, Ubisoft has invested in a professional education company Ubisoft. The two companies have a total of five or six. A team of 100 people is dedicated to education, and two-thirds of them are teaching and research and operation teams. They are responsible for the research and development of courses, the establishment of a teacher training system, the delivery and implementation of school operations.
This is indeed quite a “heavy” mode of operation. As far as teachers are concerned, the current AI education teachers are mixed, and many teachers only have vague concepts and superficial knowledge of AI. Therefore, Youbixuan Technology has joined the teacher training. All teachers who teach AI education courses must be certified by Youbixuan Technology. At the same time, the company cooperates with relevant institutions to launch national and international certified teacher qualifications.
Operation is also the core difference of Ubisoft running ahead of many competitors. Ubisoft has pioneered the regionalization of “standard school + central school + artificial intelligence base” based on the understanding of the imbalance in the development of individual education. Gradient operation system. This is a pyramid-shaped structure. The standard school provides general education courses. The central school joins the extension courses, which is suitable for higher-level students. If there are very outstanding students, you can go to the artificial intelligence base to learn more.
As an open-operation education platform, Ubitus Technology acts as a linker and participant. For Robo Genius, the finals are hosted by China Science and Technology Museum, the top platform of popular science education, co-organized by Ubiquitous Technology and Keqi Future, and the Maker Planet as the supporting unit. “In the future, the China Science and Technology Museum will combine the rich experience in the field of science education with high-quality partners such as Ubisoft, so that artificial intelligence and robots can play a greater value in science education for young people.”Su Qing looks like this.
It can be imagined that on the track of AI education, there will be more old-school training institutions and new and up-and-coming artificial intelligence companies. When the C-end market is not warming up, each school will become a must. Ground. Compared with the first two, Ubisoft has invested heavily in education and has been cultivating technology for many years, forming a mature AI education ecosystem. This is the highest barrier that Zhongyong believes Ubisoft has. At least for now, this has clear advantages. “Few players in the industry are able to carry out such a complete ecological construction and accumulation as Ubisoft.” Zhong Yong said, “At least it is said that other companies are learning from us. From this point, we can see that We have been recognized by the industry. “
But it is undeniable that Ubisoft must not take it lightly until it has enough distance from the opponent.