BUDDHI AI DIY Kit: IIT Delhi’s Deep-tech Startup Introduces World’s first Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Kit for School Students

New Delhi: Every day we hear the term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ or ‘AI’ multiple times. How many people actually understand the term AI? How many of us have a real practical feel of what AI can do in our lives?
When taught the conventional way, the field of AI requires a school student to have a rigorous background and training in topics such as advanced mathematics, data-science, and computer-programming.
CYRAN AI Solutions, an IIT Delhi deep-tech startup, has devised a novel solution for the problem of complexity associated with learning AI through their unique invention- the BUDDHI AI DIY Kit (BUDDHI here stands for “Build Understand Design Deploy Human-like Intelligence”).
The Kit was launched on Monday by Prof V Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi in the presence of representatives from education/skills NGOs, industry, schools, teachers and students.
BUDDHI Kit is the first-of-its-kind highly interactive and easy to use DIY (Do-It-Yourself) educational kit that can be used to quickly learn the basics of AI and build AI based solutions for real-world problems without any prior domain knowledge or training. BUDDHI Kit can be used by young students, tinkerers, makers, innovators, hobbyists, teachers, educationists, artists, parents and professionals from any background.
BUDDHI Kit helps bridge the gap between theoretical and practical aspects of AI for end-users by helping them develop an intuitive understanding of the subject. The DIY nature of the kit helps users develop core skills such as problem-solving, creative thinking and ability to work in teams. With BUDDHI Kit the creative possibilities are endless as it can be used to easily introduce AI in any existing STEAM (Science Technology, Engineering, Art & Math) project.
Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi said: “IIT Delhi is taking centre stage in Artificial Intelligence (AI) related Research and Development in the country. Development in indigenised AI hardware and software is critical. BUDDHI AI DIY Kit is one such initiative by the IIT Delhi-FITT incubated faculty startup, CYRAN AI Solutions. This is one of the many faculty led startups at IIT Delhi in deep-tech areas and is a result of the many initiatives we have taken in the institute to encourage faculty members and their research students to turn into entrepreneurs.”

BUDDHI Kit is the brainchild of Prof. Manan Suri of IIT Delhi, who was recognized by MIT, USA as one of the world’s top 35 innovators under the age of 35. The kit comprises of specialized proprietary Hardware-Software designed and developed completely in India.
More than two years of stealth engineering effort has gone behind the development of the current version of the BUDDHI Kit. The kit includes many technical novelties such as AI computing-engine, friendly AI Training/Inference applications and real-world AI actuation circuit boards. The components of the kit have been designed keeping in mind compatibility with mainstream electro-mechanical devices. The kit is accompanied with a rich learning ecosystem that includes; a high quality AI handbook, practical DIY AI projects, lessons, exercises, presentations, and videos.
Prof. Manan Suri, IIT Delhi said: “Like any evolving technology, there exists a gap between the promise, the hype, the capability and practical reality of AI. What makes this gap wide is the lack of resources to easily develop an intuitive insight on topics such as AI at an early stage. The motivation behind BUDDHI kit is to help young school students learn the practical aspects of a complex topic like AI in a friendly and simple manner.”
Recently, CBSE introduced AI as a subject in school curriculum. BUDDHI Kit and its accompanying content are perfectly aligned with CBSE’s prescribed AI school syllabus. The kit can be used as AI-laboratory or AI-practical resource complementary to the prescribed theory component.
After conducting successful pilot trials and workshops of the BUDDHI Kit, CYRAN is now officially launching the kit. In the first phase of the launch, the kits and accompanying content will be provided to select institutional partners such as: schools, makers-spaces, tinkering-labs, education related NGOs, government bodies, corporations, CSR bodies, or entities involved with AI-education and skilling.