UNICEF-Armenia Chapter IoT program for 14–18-year-old teenagers

Summary of the report
The overall project goal is to train IoT-educated groups of teenagers in 5 major Armenia cities, Yerevan, Hrazdan, Vanadzor, Gyumri, and Goris, who will be able to implement IoT projects in the local communities.

Experienced coaches were interviewed and chosen, helping the groups during IoT classes:

Yerevan Yervand Galoyan

Hrazdan Gayane Hakobyan

Vanadzor Ani Torosyan

Goris Martin Minasyan

Gyumri Susanna Khotsanyan

The classes were provided by Vahan Misakyan, Karen Yerznkanyan, and Yervand Galoyan, having profound knowledge in IoT. The announcement about the courses was widely advertised and groups were formed. They included teenagers with impairments.

Each group was supplied with the following equipment:

#

Name

Quantity

1

Arduino Uno

4

3

ESP-32 Board

4

2

Arduino Education Starter Kit

5

3

Breadboard Jumper Wire Pack

3

4

Arduino Bare Board

8

5

Raspberry kit (Raspberry Pi 4B, 4GB)

2

6

Sensors, Leds, Servo motors

 

 

The areas of the IoT, in which the participants were trained, are the following:
Smart home
: Temperature control, Smart thermostat, Smart doorbell; Smart lock, Smart coffee maker, Smart driver, Smart dishwasher, Smart refrigerator

Lighting control, lighting controlled by scenarios

Voice assistants: Alexa Amazon, Google Home, Alisa Yandex

Unmanned equipment, Drones

Structure of modern cars, Shuttle taxis, Unmanned economic vehicles

Smart city: City lighting management; Management of parking lots; Control of traffic lights; Smart stops

Agriculture: Greenhouses; Monitoring of agricultural conditions; Prevention of fires.

Trade: Automated stores without salespeople; Amazon Shops; Electronic labels

Cargo transportation: Monitoring of the technical condition of the car; Optimal cargo transportation management

Power supply: Measurement and monitoring of electricity consumption, power supply management Smart Grid; Power plant management, safety issues

Healthcare: Telemedicine, remote medical consultation, monitoring of patients' condition; remote operations.


During practical courses, participants worked directly on physical boards such us Arduino Uno, ESP8266 and ESP32, sensors and actuators. In addition, online tools Thinkercad (https://tinkercad.com) were widely used.  Thinkercad is a web app for 3D design, electronics, and coding, which is the ideal introduction to the circuit technology that permits to emulate the circuit design. It made the study easier and more comprehensible. Through the platform, participants were also given individual homework, and each participant's work is further discussed in detail in online classes. This methodology allows strengthening the participants' knowledge.

Students’ tasks completed with the Thinkercad emulator were presented to trainers for approval.

In parallel with classes the groups were working on the development of a voice assistant in Armenian based on Raspberry PI4 microcomputers. Commands in Armenian were developed. A solution to the problem with limited words or phrases was developed. It will help people with mobility or vision problems to control their home and office equipment (lighting, heating, doors, shutters, etc.).

The Armenian-language voice assistant had been developed with the involvement of teenagers included in the project. The latest technologies and solutions in voice recognition and machine learning were used. The voice assistant was named "Anahit" (it echoes that name). Anahit is built based on a Raspberry 4PI microcomputer, to which a microphone hub, a speaker and a sound amplifier are attached. A 3D model was developed to give all these equipment a complete equipment look. With a 3D printer at the disposal of the IoT Lab laboratory, a case was made, where the mentioned equipment was placed.

The Chapter continued to work for the House of Culture of blinds and visually impaired people. A smart switch connected to a cloud management system, enabling remote monitoring and control of lighting was installed. The system allows users to check the status of lights and remotely turn them on or off. Additionally, the installation of the Yandex Alisa voice assistant enabled voice-controlled operation of the lighting system. Besides that, we acquired an electronic valve, enabling remote control of the building's water supply. The video of using Yandex Alisa voice assistant in the House of culture can be seen here. According to plans the Anahit voice assistant will be installed in the House of culture of blinds and visually impaired people a bit later. Anahit will be able to switch on and off electricity and water supply.

Post-training knowledge assessment

The post-training knowledge assessment questionnaire, that was developed to measure the level of knowledge increase among the trainees, was converted to a survey type that was easier to use through quizizz.com interactive online survey. The survey questions were developed. The overview of the survey methodology implemented for training teenagers in IoT showed the way of improvement. The evaluation of the knowledge gained by the participants was carried out, not only at the end of the course, but also during it. That method had a significant impact on the level of knowledge and skills of the participants. The results of the final summary survey also testified to this.

And considering that surveys were conducted online and interactively, they created a great interest and a healthy competitive atmosphere during the courses.

Here is the list of trained adolescents:

 

NN

Name

1

Edik Baghshyan

2

Samvel Ajizyan

3

Ruben Ghazaryan

4

Aram Hakobyan

5

Davit Ghaplanyan

6

Narek Vardanyan

7

Rudolph Kitoyan

8

Sargis Baghramyan

1

Mariam Ter-Petrosyan

2

Tigran Poghosyan

3

Milena Khachatryan

4

Mariam Sahakyan

5

Lili Abrahamyan

6

Aren Halevoryan

7

Sona Ghambaryan

9

Alik Sargsyan

10

Vazgen Shekoyan

11

Hovhannes Varderesyan

12

Artavazd Arabachyan

13

Gor Bayanduryan

14

Artyom Shahnazaryan

15

Lilit Alikhanyan

16

Meri Qurdoghlyan

17

Artur Aleksanyan

18

Artur Amyan

19

Armen Karapetyan

20

Elen Grigoryan

21

Elena Yeganyan

22

Sirak Khachatryan

23

Gagik Vardanyan

24

May Nikoghosyan

25

Hrach Gyurjian

26

Aram Hovhannisyan

27

Alain Oganov

28

Milena Aghajanyan

29

Lilit Martirosyan

30

Avetis Mamikonyan

31

Artur Abrahamyan

32

Artur Aleksanyan

33

Artur Amyan

34

Armen Karapetyan

35

Elen Grigoryan

36

Elena Yeganyan

37

Sirak Khachatryan

38

Gagik Vardanyan

39

May Nikoghosyan

40

Hrach Gyurjian

41

Aram Hovhannisyan

42

Alain Oganov

43

Milena Aghajanyan

44

Lilit Martirosyan

45

Avetis Mamikonyan

46

Artur Abrahamyan

47

Edmond Serobyan

48

Yurik Minasyan

49

Edgar Hovhannisyan

50

Hripsime Hovhannisyan

51

Davit Karapetyan

52

Henrik Vardanyan

53

Adelaida Baghdasaryan

54

Luiza Paravyan

55

Mikael Sakhbazayn

56

Aram Alaverdyan

57

Narek Nersisyan

58

Nana Shakhbazyan

59

Karine Soloyan

60

Mariam Hovsepyan

61

Milena Hayrapetyan

62

Anahit Kocharyan

63

Lily Minasyan

64

Tirayr Harutyunyan

65

Alexan Harutyunyan

66

Arsen Movsisyan

67

George Salbunts

68

Gor Salbunts

69

Shahen Gyurjian

70

Eric Javahiryan

71

Artashes Malintsyan

72

Alen Atanesyan

73

Nane Mashuryan

74

Lia Hovsepyan

75

Arame Hovsepyan

76

Arsen Hovsepyan

77

Tigran Apunts

78

Gor Parsyan

79

Suren Parsyan

80

Davit Gasltyan

81

Hasmik Arustamyan

82

Tatev Aleksanyan

 

Among them 12 adolescents were with impairments.