Cannybots - Toy robots for education, play and beyond

Cannybots Ltd is a Cambridge (UK) based startup developing robotics toys that is
tremendously exciting to play with, yet at the same time exposes the underlying technology
and components to kids. By exposing state of the art technology though play, we hope to
arouse technical curiosity in children.
According UK Commission for Employment & Skills by 2030 technology will pervade every
job sector. Yet majority of the kids today are not motivated to take up technology related
subjects at school or have the ambition to pursue a technology related career. For instance,
according to the Department of Education a mere 17% of the kids (aged 10-14) aspire to take
up a technology based career. Currently only 5 million people, or 20%, of the UK working
population is employed in the technology sector. 40% of the UK employers struggle to find
skilled employees in technology sector. This implies that the throughput of skilled students is
insufficient to sustain even the current demand from industry, let alone the expected surge in
the future. Surprisingly, this situation is not unique to UK; many OECD countries are facing
similar challenges. Studies show that students are detached from science because they cannot
relate to what they are being taught.
By creating toys that expose kids to technology though play, we hope to inspire the next
generation to take up a technology related career. We believe this would be an ideal medium
to demonstrate practical application of science. Robotics is likely to dominate the next phase
of technological progress. Hence by developing toys that incorporate robotics, we want to
expose kids to the exciting world of close loop servo motors, sensors, microcontrollers and
embedded programming. We hope to create the BBC Micro equivalent for the next generation
of kids.
For more information, contact us at: info@cannybots.com or visit www.cannybots.com