Gumstix Provides Powerful Computing for Autonomous Robotics and Next Generation of Engineers

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - July 7, 2015 - PRLog -- Gums (http://www.gumstix.com)tix, Inc., the premier provider of Linux® computers-on-module (COMs) for electronic manufacturers, educators and hobbyists, today announced its partnership with the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics (http://www.kipr.org/) (KIPR)  and its Botball® Educational Robotics (http://www.botball.org/) to provide the next generation platform for standards-based robotics education. The announcement takes place today at KIPR’s 2015 Global Conference on Educational Robotics (GCER) (http://www.kipr.org/gcer), currently underway in Albuquerque, New Mexico with over 750 kids, representing 20 states and teams from Austria, Poland, Kuwait, China, Mexico and Africa attending to learn and compete.

KIPR’s Botball program, targeted and middle and high school aged students interested in robotics, is a team-oriented competition designed to meet today’s common core standards in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. Botball exposes students to inquiry-based learning while engaging their science, technology math and writing skills to create completely autonomous robots based around a common development platform.

Designed with Geppetto, (https://www.gumstix.com/geppetto-info/) Gumstix’ D2O (design-to-order) tool for creating completely custom smart devices, the new KIPR Controller will offer students access to a powerful computing environment running on a small, lightweight and low-powered computing solution. Geppetto’s customization capabilities, with a lead time of just 20 days, make it easy for users to create a design to meet an exact specification while offering reductions in both price and development time. Savings in both time and cost allow users such as Botball to get their designs up and running faster and more reliably, all with less overhead.

“Gumstix is proud to provide the technology behind the next-generation KIPR Controller” said Dr. W. Gordon Kruberg, president and CEO of Gumstix, Inc. “STEM is a field of ever-increasing importance for today’s students, and Botball does an excellent job of engaging and training young minds in the critically important field of automated robotics. We look forward to working with Botball and seeing continued success in their program.”

“We are very excited to be working with Gumstix,” said Steve Goodgame, Executive Director of KIPR. “Gumstix shares our vision in educational robotics outreach through the empowerment of educators and the participation of students K-12.”

The announcement will be made by Dr. Kruberg at the opening ceremony for the 2015 Global Conference on Educational Robotics (GCER) (http://www.kipr.org/gcer). At GCER, students, educators, enthusiasts and professionals alike connect with peers, discuss technology-related ideas and compete in teams during two autonomous robot tournaments.

###

About Gumstix, Inc.

As a global leader in hardware design and manufacturing solutions, Gumstix helps people imagine, design, and create a better world. Gumstix gives its customers the power to solve their design, business, and environmental challenges with Geppetto® -- the online design-to-order system-- and a broad portfolio of small computers and embedded boards. In addition to engineers and industrial designers, Gumstix helps students, educators, and makers unlock their creative ideas to bring them to market. Since we pioneered the concept of an extremely small computer-on-module (COM) with a full implementation of Linux in 2003, the company has grown to become the premier provider of Linux-based COMs and expansion boards, with over 20,000 diverse customers. Our product kits and systems have launched some of the world’s coolest Linux and Android products - from phones to drones - on commercial, university, and hobbyist workbenches in over 45 countries. For more information, visit www.gumstix.com

About KIPR and Botball Educational Robotics

The KISS Institute for Practical Robotics (KIPR) is the leading provider of programming based educational robotics programs located in Norman, Oklahoma. KIPR’s Botball® Educational Robotics Program engages middle and high school aged students in a team-oriented robotics competition, and serves as a perfect way to meet today’s new common core standards. Students use science, engineering, technology, math, and writing skills to design, build, program, and document autonomous robots in a hands-on project. By exposing students to an inquiry-based, learn-by-doing activity that appeals to their hearts as well as their minds, Botball® addresses the need for a well-prepared, creative, yet disciplined workforce with leadership and teamwork experience. For more information, visit www.kipr.org