Section outline

  • Problem Identification and Idea Filtering

    Every great robotics innovation begins with a real-world problem. This section teaches you how to look around your environment, identify meaningful challenges, and refine ideas into practical, buildable solutions. Whether you live in a high-tech city or a rural village, problems worth solving exist everywhere—and robotics can offer powerful solutions.

    • 🌍 Step 1: Observe the World Around You

      Start by exploring your home, school, community, or even news stories. Look for areas where automation, sensing, or mobility could help. Write down anything that seems inefficient, repetitive, dangerous, or simply annoying.

      Examples of problems from different regions:

      • Asia: Water wastage in homes due to forgotten taps
      • Africa: Lack of access to timely crop health monitoring
      • Western countries: Delivery packages left unattended and stolen
      • Global: Elderly people forgetting medication times
      • Urban areas: High pollution areas without real-time data sharing

      🧠 Step 2: List Multiple Solutions

      Once you identify problems, brainstorm multiple solution paths for each one—manual and robotic. Consider both low-tech and high-tech solutions.

      Example – Problem: Forgotten medication by elderly

      • Use a simple alarm clock with labels (manual)
      • Install a voice reminder system in the room
      • Use a mobile app with scheduled notifications
      • Robotic solution: A robot that speaks reminders, shows messages, and dispenses pills
      • Connect medicine box to Google Assistant or Alexa

      🚫 Step 3: Eliminate Weak Solutions

      Evaluate each solution for practicality, cost, technical feasibility, and impact. Eliminate ones that:

      • Require very advanced skills or hardware beyond your reach
      • Do not solve the problem effectively
      • Already exist as mature products unless your version is significantly better or cheaper

      In our example: The mobile app idea already exists in many forms, and voice reminders without interaction may not be enough. But a small robot that interacts and dispenses medicine could be impactful and feasible.

      ✅ Step 4: Select Your Final Idea

      From your refined list, pick 1–2 ideas to develop further. The best ideas:

      • Solve a real and recurring problem
      • Can be prototyped using tools like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or other kits
      • Offer room for creativity, personalization, or scalability

    • 📋 Idea Filtering Template

      Problem Possible Solutions Feasibility Issues Final Pick
      Elderly forgetting to take medicine 1. Alarm clock
      2. App reminders
      3. Voice assistant
      4. Robot dispenser with reminders
      5. Family SMS alert system      		 Alarm clock is passive
      App is too generic
      Voice assistant lacks interaction
      Robot needs more effort but is unique      		 Robot dispenser with reminders

      💡 Bonus Prompt for Learners:

      As homework, walk around your school or neighborhood and write down 5 problems you see. For each one, list at least 3 possible robotic solutions. Use the filtering table to finalize one project idea you'll carry forward in this course.

      This structured thinking is the foundation of innovation. In the next section, we will dive into how to design your prototype using templates and planning tools that real robotics startups use.