Dr. Azamat Yeshmukhametov, a postdoctoral scholar of ISSAI and ARMS laboratory at Nazarbayev University, gave free lectures on robotics to pupils from various remote towns and villages in Kazakhstan.
Azamat participated as a teacher in the national TV program “Talpyn”, initiated by “Qazaqstan TV”, to provide vocational guidance for pupils in remote areas of Kazakhstan. In the program, Azamat gave a lecture on robotics to schoolchildren from the village of Aqbulym, near Taraz.
During his lecture, Azamat spoke about the fundamentals and history of robotics, importance of human-robot interaction, and the benefits that humans can gain from robots. Azamat also provided examples of successful real-life applications of robotics. For example, he mentioned how robots had been able to rescue people from damaged buildings during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan, 2011. The video of the program “Talpyn” can be accessed at https://qazaqstan.tv/videos/148023
Every spring and summer, Dr. Yeshmukhametov gives free robotics lectures to pupils from other cities as well. For instance, he has already delivered lectures to pupils from Shymkent, Lugovoi, Taldykorgan, and Kaskelen, as well as to NIS students. Currently, Azamat is writing a book on robotics for schoolchildren, which will be published soon.
“Nowadays, there is growing interest in robotics from school pupils,” says Azamat, “The fact that our government is starting to include robotics in the school program will have a very positive effect on the education of the youth”. Providing free educational lectures on robotics can also contribute to the development of technologically advanced human capital in the country.
Azamat has nine years of research experience and five years of teaching experience. Azamat received his Bachelor’s degree from Satbayev Kazakh National Technical University and his postgraduate degrees from Tokai University, Japan. His Ph.D. research topic was on continuum manipulators. Continuum manipulators are robots with continuously curving manipulators, such as elephant trunks or octopus tentacles. The advantages of continuum robots are the safety and flexibility of the structure, which allows it to work in a limited workspace, and the absolute safety for the environment. Azamat’s research interests include tensegrity robots, continuum robots, agriculture robots, robot design and service robots.