Off the wire
Copa Libertadores: Defending champions Atletico Nacional ousted  • Mexico City faces worst air pollution in two decades  • Eating fruit, vegetables secret to looking good: Australian study  • Interview: Slovenia wishes to become major logistic hub of Belt and Road Initiative, says minister  • Xinhua China news advisory -- May 19  • Gold price opens lower in Hong Kong  • Melbourne has longest yet slowest tram network in the world: study  • China treasury bond futures open lower Friday  • Hong Kong stocks open 0.14 pct higher  • Chinese football has bright future, says FIFA official Zhang Jian  
You are here:   Home/ News

Robot coding for kids hot in China

China Daily by Wu Yong, June 1, 2017 Adjust font size:

 Robot coding for kids hot in China

An employee performs a quality control inspection on Lego Duplo figures on the assembly line at the Lego plant, in Nyiregyhaza, Hungary. After turning a loss-making company into the world's most profitable toymaker, Lego is warning that it won't be able to sustain the same growth rates it delivered in recent years. Akos Stiller / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Educationalists say language creates rich dialogue between mankind and machines

Five-year-old Duoduo is clearly hooked on her new toy, a blue robot called Dash. The only child in her family, Duoduo teaches the robot how to dance on her iPad - even naming it meimei, or little sister.

Dash - a programming robot compatible with iOS and Android devices that can be controlled through mobile apps - was designed by Silicon Valley-based Wonder Workshop Inc, and became popular in the Chinese market from last year.

"Our slogan is that coding is the new English. If the English language is a universal communications tool for people, coding is another vital tool for dialogue between human beings and machines in the age of artificial intelligence," said Brian Yang, general manager Asia Pacific at Wonder Workshop, a manufacturer of toy robots which teach kids how to code.

"We're not aiming to train geeks, but foster children's logical thinking and creativity. Learning programming will lay solid foundations for the future," he added.

The company says the past few years have seen coding classes start up in over 24 countries, among them the US, Germany and South Korea.

Educationalists say more parents want their children to be better prepared for the future, especially one in which the central government has set a goal of boosting the nation through science and education.

1   2   3