Table Colombia Challenge

• Spanish

IQ-Bots seeks to help solve some problems related to the use of robotics educational tools and the students' lack of interest in technology. These problems have been classified into five categories: educational perspective, multi-robot requirements, easy-to-use tools for teachers, easy-to-adopt tools for schools and impact on society.

1- With regard to the educational perspective, we identify that most robotic kits are used to promote old-fashioned teaching methods; In fact, students are often guided to follow step-by-step instructions to build and program a robot. Modern educational trends have identified the need to promote the development of skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication. The main difficulty is that robotics kits focus on technology (robots and programming software) and forget to involve a formal educational model that ensures compliance with learning outcomes and the development of the skills necessary to succeed in the changing and challenging world where we live.

2- We also discovered that most robotics educational solutions focus on mono-robot activities, which limits the applicability of robotics in education. There are many class issues that need more than one robot to develop. For example, the representation of a historical event, the simulation of the food chain or the solution of problems in a city. Therefore, there is also a need to develop educational tools that involve the cooperation of multiple robots. In addition, if you learn to make robots cooperate, you will also learn to appreciate the values of collaborating with others.

3- Analyzing the needs of teachers, we identify that most robots only include poor training and limited teaching support. Most teachers require strong support to appropriate the tools and for their proper use in the design and implementation of robot-based educational activities. In fact, teachers need more than technical support, they also require educational advice. Another problem, that teachers have to deal with, is related to kits that involve a large number of robot construction parts and their high replacement costs; there are many teachers who prefer not to use this type of kits in their class for fear that some pieces will be damaged or lost.

4- With respect to the needs of schools, we discover that one of the main difficulties that schools have in acquiring robotic educational tools is the high initial investment. Schools need new more flexible payment models. In addition, schools are also concerned about the return on investment; as mentioned earlier, key educational goals are not always achieved, nor do teachers achieve adequate adoption of the tools.

5- Finally, there are important needs related to society. Today, there is a lack of interest of children and adolescents in learning ICT to enrich their professional development. This has led to a reduction in the number of students entering technology careers around the world and many teenagers do not understand the relevance that technology has in all professions. Therefore, there is a global need for education in schools to promote interest in the development and innovative use of ICT.

IQ-Bots is an educational robotics company that creates and provides learning experiences based on cooperative robots. Our products encourage children and teenagers to learn, in a fun way, to be clever, communicative and collaborative, while promoting interest in technology.

1- Our educational robotics solutions are based on a formal educational model called AC4. This model promotes learning through the construction of solutions to problems, collaborative work, creativity as a basis for generating innovative solutions, and the projection to the community connecting the learning process to the students' everyday contexts.

2- A differential feature of our solutions is that the learning experience is based on cooperative robotics, where students can program several robots to work cooperatively. This feature increases the applicability of our solution in the school curriculum. But the most relevant thing is that the cooperation between robots inspires students to work collaboratively.

3- Our robotic educational solutions include robots that are made up of some few parts and are easily replaceable. It also includes software that allows students and teachers to program cooperative robots easily and intuitively. We also offer complementary activities such as workshops, robotics competitions, and scientific meetings. These activities can also be carried out remotely through our "Community of Collaboration and Learning" (CCL).

4- IQ-Bots has created a co-creation strategy designed to facilitate familiarization and effective use of our educational model and our technology by teachers. Co-creation not only includes virtual or classroom support for the teachers but also an accompaniment to achieve real customization and appropriation of robot-based educational activities using our products. We have three types of teacher support:

a- Coaching with experts: it is oriented to the conceptual appropriation of our AC4 educational model and its application using our products. Teachers' learning work also includes the planning of robot-based activities adapted to the school context and the rigorous use of assessment tools.

b- Preparation of class: a tutor helps the teacher to the practical appropriation of the educational model and technological tools. This collaborative work between the teacher and the tutor includes the organization of the sessions that will take place in the classroom.

c- Collaboration in class: the teacher could also be accompanied by a tutor during the development of his class. Teacher and tutor will work collaboratively using the AC4 active learning scheme.

5- Our products are designed to arouse students' interest in technology; not only through the use of technological tools such as robots and programming software but also through the development of technological thinking and the stimulation of critical attitudes of students towards the effective and appropriate use of technology.

6- IQ-Bots also provides a "Collaboration and Learning Community", an open web platform. The main objective of this community is to facilitate interaction between members of educational institutions, not only students and teachers but also parents. This community is also used to provide virtual support for co-creation with teachers and student learning. One of the novelties of this community is implemented as a virtual space through which the user's avatar can move through a city, build robots, access different resources, use collaboration spaces and find useful information. To make it attractive to users, gamification strategies are used, and spaces for the development of challenges, contests, and games are also included.

The IQ-Bots product roadmap includes the launch of three educational products based on multiple robots in the next three years.

The first product is Quemes, which was designed to learn basic ICT tools by students between 10 and 14 years old. The Quemes product has a TRL-8; in fact, we already have a PVM of Quemes validated in real conditions. This product will be launched in Colombia in January 2020. During the first half of 2020, the family version of Quemes will be developed for parents to buy at retail stores. This family version of Quemes will be launched in the second half of 2020. Finally, in 2020, the Quemes product will be launched in the United States.

Our second product is Quyca-Bot, designed to create dramatizations with robots by students between 7 and 10 years. Quyca can be used by teachers who have no technical knowledge. This product has a TRL-5. We have a Quyca-Bot MVP that was validated in a real environment with end-users. Quyca-Bot is expected to launch into the Colombian market in January 2021. The family version of Quyca will also be developed, which will be launched in the second half of 2021. Finally, Quyca will be taken to the US market in the first half of 2022.

Finally, the product Quyi-Bot and has a TRL-3. This product was designed to develop innovation skills and ICT talent by students between 14 and 21 years old. We are currently beginning the process to transform the research product into an MVP. This product is expected to be available in the Colombian market in the first half of 2022.

At the beginning, we will manufacture our own robots, however, we hope that in 2022 we will no longer have to carry out this manufacturing process. For this, it is planned to make alliances with companies that build educational robots. We also consider making our solution adaptable to existing robotics educational platforms.

It is estimated that there are over 200 million public and private schools worldwide. Therefore, the total addressable market (TAM) of IQ-Bots is over 2.520 trillion USD. However, we will initially focus on the Colombian and United States market. According to this, our serviceable available market (SAM) is 1.933 million USD. These figures do not consider other of our markets such as museums and families.

As for the market trends, the new market research report on the "Educational Robot Market - Global Forecast to 2023" shows that the educational robot market has been valued at USD 778.6 Million in 2018 and is expected to reach USD 2542.43 Million by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.4%. It shows that the educational robotic market is growing.

One of our main risks is the manufacture of robots. However, in our road map, we propose to make our independent products of the robot platform. Other risks include possible changes in trade policies with the United States, exchange rate volatility and production cost overruns.

Our direct competitors are robotics companies that integrate services similar to those offered by our company. Likewise, our indirect competitors are identified as companies whose business model is based on the sale of kits.

Lego (https://www.lego.com/en-us/categories/robots-for-kids) is one of our global competitors. This renowned company has three main construction kits: LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, LEGO WeDo 2.0, and LEGO BOOST Creative Toolbox. They also have curriculum materials for LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 which includes student-ready resources, full teacher support, assessment tools, sample programs, and building instructions. Lego also has an online eLearning program and offers extensive courses that guide the teacher through their educational robotics solutions.

TD robótica (http://tdrobotica.co/)  is one of our direct and indirect competitors in Colombia. They offer educational robotics products developed by themselves. They also are distributors of other brands. TD robótica also offer workshops and training courses on different themes of educational robotics.

Pygmalion (http://pygmalion.tech/) is another direct and indirect competitor in Colombia. They offer educational robotics products developed by themselves and are distributors of other brands. This company in its business model not only offers robotics kits, but also offers support in training topics for students and teachers. They offer teaching methodologies focused on developing STEAM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) in students and developing the talent of young people to insert them into the knowledge economy and Industry 4.0

Other competitors are Vex Robotics (US), ROBOTIS (South Korea), Wonder Workshop (US), Aisoy Robotics (Spain), SoftBank (Japan), Sphero Edu (US) and Makeblock (china).

As for our competitive advantage, we identified the following:

• Multidisciplinary team: IQ-Bots is characterized by having a multidisciplinary team. Most of the members have a doctorate degree or master's degree.
• A high technological barrier against competitors. The technology of our products is supremely specialized, thus generating a barrier against competition. Currently, we have a patent application of the BDI intelligent control of our robots, and we are carrying out the patent process of the cognitive and multiagent architecture to control of robot actors. The software is registered with the copyright office in Colombia. There is also a trademark granted in Colombia for the Quemes product.
• Support of a recognized university. IQ-Bots is a spin-off of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, a recognized university in Colombia. The use of this university's brand can open interesting business opportunities.
• Educational model and multi-robot approach. Our AC4 educational model is based on years of research and validation with students and teachers. In addition, our learning experience based on cooperative multi-robot systems is a novelty in the educational robotics market. Currently, most robotic kits focus on mono-robot.
• Face to face or virtual teacher support. IQ-Bots also includes teacher support to help them appropriate our products and customize the learning experience to the school context.
• Novel business model. Our company also has a new business model in which schools can pay through an annual renewable subscription. This payment method makes it possible for the investment to be transferable to the parents.

The Quemes product has been validated with more than 450 students from 14 public schools and four private schools. This product was also validated in a science and technology museum through science clubs with 30 children. The market validation of Quemes was carried out with 20 private schools, 15 teachers, five companies and an educational fair in the United States. There are three academic papers that show some of these validations:

• González Guerrero, E., Páez Rodríguez, J. J., & José Roldán, F. (2013). Robots cooperativos, Quemes para la educación. Revista Vínculos
• Guerrero, E. G., Rico, L. C., Flórez, G. C., & Rivera, R. G. (2013, August). QUEMES: enseñanza innovadora de la programación en ingeniería. In WEEF 2013 Cartagena.
• Guerrero, E. G., Rodríguez, J. J. P., & Roldán, F. J. (2013). Uso de robots cooperativos para el desarrollo de habilidades de trabajo cooperativo en niños. Revista de Investigaciones UNAD, 12(2), 43-56.

Quyca has been validated with 140 children from a public school and 30 children from two private schools in Colombia. An international validation was also carried out with 17 children from an Italian school. Market validation was carried out with 50 teachers and managers. There is also an Italian validation publication in EuroNews entitled Educating robots: How a school in Italy is using them to learn language and drama. There is also an academic paper that describes the validation of Quyca: Bravo, F. A., Gonzalez, E., Di Blas, N., & Bonarini, A. (2019, June). Robots at School: Supporting Humanities Teaching Through Robots-Based Storytelling. In EdMedia+ Innovate Learning (pp. 162-175). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Finally, Quyi-Bot was validated with more than 200 teenagers from three small towns in Colombia. The following academic article shows the evidence of this validation: González, E., De La Pena, A., Cortés, F., Molano, D., Baron, B., Gualteros, N., & Parra, C. (2019, April). Robotic Theater: An Architecture for Competency-Based Learning. In International Conference on Robotics and Education RIE 2017 (pp. 126-137). Springer, Cham.

Our direct clients are public and private schools interested in educational robotics as a tool to support the teaching and learning processes. The foundations, Science & Technology Museums and Planetariums, and retail stores are other segments of our direct clients. Our main indirect clients will be parents who are interested in developing skills in their children through educational robotics and companies distributing educational material

Companies that sell educational products, such as educational publishers, will be one of our main strategic allies. Other strategic allies are companies that sell educational robotics kits.

The relationship with our direct clients will be based on a subscription model, where schools will be able to access three types of packages for one year, with the possibility of making monthly payments. These packages will include a robotics educational kit, training workshops, co-creation with the teacher, online community and robotics competitions. The difference in subscriptions will be in the number of hours of teacher support, as well as in the number of experts assigned for this support.

Our goal of direct sales to Colombia schools for the first year is to achieve 10 subscriptions every two months from April 2020. To achieve this goal, we estimate that we must reach at least 100 schools every two months. Our strategy to reach these subscriptions goals include the following activities:

• Develop activities related to introductory talks of our company and products in educational events.
• Organize work breakfasts, with senior managers of the schools, as well as with professors from the technology area.
• Develop introductory workshops with teachers in the area of technology so that they know our educational model.
• Organize visits to teachers in the area of technology to advertise our products.
• Send articles to schools about the benefits of educational robotics and our products.
• Position the IQ-Bots brand through sales through digital marketing. It includes the creation of the online community and the positioning of the brand and customer loyalty through the website.
• Have a market channel like Amazon.
• Make alliances with educational publishers.

In the second year, the subscription objective is expected to triple with the launch of the Quyca product in Colombia and the launch of the Quemes product in the United States. It is planned to make greater use of digital media, participate in events such as educational products fairs and establish strategic alliances for example with technology brokers to reach the number of schools that need to be contacted to meet the goal of subscriptions

In the second half of 2020, the family line will be launched in Colombia and in 2021 in the United States. The strategy for the sale the family line is to have online marketplaces (e.g., Amazon, eBay) and alliances with retail companies (e.g., Panamericana, Pepe Ganga, Home Depot, Walmart).

The team is composed of the following interdisciplinary group:

Enrique González has a bachelor's and a master's degree in electrical engineering. He also has a doctorate degrade in computer science. He has more than 25 years of experience in robotics, multi-robot systems, and intelligent systems. Currently, Enrique is a full-time professor at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. As for his role in IQ-Bots, Enrique is the team leader. Additionally, he contributes to the technical development of the products. He holds a 45% ownership stake in IQ-Bots.

Cesar Bustacara has a bachelor's degree in computer science and a master's degree in electrical engineering. César has extensive experience in graphic computing, virtual reality, computer vision, and software architecture. He is currently a full-time professor at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. At IQ-Bots, Cesar contributes to the development of software products. He holds an 18% ownership stake in IQ-Bots

Monica Brijaldo has a bachelor's degree in philology and languages and a master’s degree in virtual space training. Monica is also a candidate for a Doctor in Formation in the knowledge society. She has experience in education with ICT, educational robotics, and rhetoric on the internet. She is currently a full-time professor at the Faculty of Education at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. She holds a 12% ownership stake in IQ-Bots.

Fabian Roldan has a bachelor's degree in computer science. Fabian has experience in software development. Regarding his role in the company, he contributes to the development of our software products. He holds a 12% ownership stake in IQ-Bots.

Angela Bravo has a bachelor's and a master's degree in electronic engineering engineer. She also has a doctoral degree in engineering. Angela has worked in educational robotics for more than 10 years. As for her role in IQ-Bots, Angela contributes from the perspective of educational robots. She has a 5% stake in IQ-Bots.

Diego Molano has a bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering and a master's degree. He is currently a doctoral student in education. In addition, Diego is a schoolteacher in the area of educational technology. Contributes to IQ-Bot from the educational approach. It also gives contributions to the company from the perspective of an end-user. He has a 5% stake in IQ-Bots.

There are two people who are part of the IQ-Bots team but do not yet have equity ownership. Their contributions to the company will be recognized through equities at the end of this year. One of them is Helena Jiménez, a chemical engineer and specialist in technological management. She has 9 years of experience in management and direction of innovation, technology transfer and research & development projects. Currently, Helena is Project Manager of innovation and technology transfer at Universidad Militar Nueva Granada. She would contribute to IQ-Bots form the business and innovation perspective.

The other person is John Páez, who has a bachelor's degree in technological design and a master's degree in systems and computer engineering. He also has a doctorate in engineering. John is currently a full-time professor at the Francisco José de Caldas District University. He would contribute to the company with his extensive experience in educational technology.

For the first year, our goal is to sell 50 Quemes subscriptions and sell 200 units of the family version of Quemes in Colombia. At the end of the year, revenues of USD 1,540,350 and costs of USD 1,159,250 are estimated. These costs correspond to the development of new products, operations, marketing and administration, and legal matters. According to our financial model, capital of approximately US $ 490,000 is required for the first year. Our goal is to have this capital in December of this year.

For the second year, our goal is to sell in Colombia about 200 Quyca and Quemes subscriptions and 1000 units of the family line of these products in Colombia and the United States. This will generate revenue at the end of the year of $ 4,024,242 USD and costs of $ 3,200,311. According to our financial model, our capital needs for the second year are approximately $ 970,000 USD. Our goal is to have this capital for the second half of 2020.

For the third year, it is estimated to sell around 500 subscriptions for our products and 2000 units of the family line in Colombia and the United States. Income at the end of that year is estimated at $ 14,631,541 USD and costs of $ 6,460,147 USD.

Our business model creates monetization opportunities through content generation and training for tutors, teachers, mentors, and even parents. In addition, outsourcing to make robots and allies for the distribution of robots generate direct and indirect employment.

As for the impact on teachers, IQ-Bots facilitates the work of teachers in the classroom through a comprehensive hardware-software solution, booklets with challenges that motivate students and personalized support to the teacher.

Regarding the impact on schools, IQ-Bots helps them provide high-quality education through the use of intelligent robots. It helps to attract and retain the best students, expand the visibility and recognition of the institution, strengthen the profile and projection of graduates and improve indicators in academic tests.

Finally, an impact of our business on society is related to the promotion of an education that fosters the skills of the 21st century and increases the empowerment of young people in terms of innovation, production systems, science, and technology. Another impact on society is related to increasing the interest of young people to study technological careers.