WitBlox upgrades robotics learning app with TikTok-like video feature

We Techshiksha, owner of do-it-yourself robotics kit maker WitBlox, has upgraded its robotics learning app to add a “TikTok-like" video sharing interface.

While the app is currently active on Google Play, the iOS version will release in the next two weeks, a company spokesperson told TechCircle.

The platform houses video tutorials on robot building, drones and other DIY technology ideas. Users can also buy components and materials required for the projects via a shop option on the app.

“We felt the need for a platform where makers and tinkerers could showcase their ideas, creations and inventions, learn from each other’s work and stay connected... We felt that WitBlox app with TikTok-like features for sharing projects and creations would be a great idea for all the makers and tinkerers to showcase their latest creations,” founder and CEO Amit Modi said in a statement on Tuesday.

Mumbai-based Witblox claims to host a community of over 20,000 robotics enthusiasts. Its customised kits, which can be used by children as young as 1o years, contain simple electronics to build robots and circuits.

The Mumbai Angels-backed startup had last raised funding in December 2020. The company was earlier incubated by Neotech, an incubator and accelerator from Kolkata-based conglomerate Ambuja Neotia, it added in the statement.

Founded in 2014 by IIT Bombay alumnus Modi, WitBlox offers gamified robotics learning for children aged 8-16 years, through plug-and-play hardware toolkits across science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). 

The STEM toy market of India is estimated at $500 million in 2020, according to industry estimates mentioned in the statement. The global educational toys market is expected to post a compound annual growth rate of over 11% during the period 2018-2022, according to market research firm Technavio. Demand in the APAC region, particularly China and India, is expected to fuel educational toys’ market growth.

Other players in the robotics learning subset of edtech startups in India include Delhi-based Smartivity Labs, STEMRobo and Avishkaar Box, Guguram-based RoboGenius, Chennai-based SP Robotic Works, Noida-based RoboSpecies Technologies and Bengaluru-based Skyfi Labs among others.

The central government is also promoting tinkering projects in schools via its under the Atal Innovation Mission to empower educational institutions to create innovative workstations called Atal Tinkering Labs. AIM has so far selected a total of 14,916 schools across 33 states and union territories in India to set up ATLs.