Empowering Students Through AI: From Marine Conservation to Smart Eco-Sorters
Artificial Intelligence (AI) allows computers and robots to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. From understanding speech to recognising objects and images, AI is rapidly shaping our daily lives. However, AI is not just a tool for tech giants; when youths are empowered with AI education, incredible innovations emerge. Recent developments in Singapore, such as the youth-developed SGFish app, and practical programs like the Kebbi AI Eco-Sorter workshop at Lyza Education, demonstrate how teaching students AI can drive meaningful environmental change.
Youths Making Waves: The SGFish App
A prime example of youth-led technological innovation is the SGFish app, which was built by volunteers from the Ichthyological Society of Singapore. The team, which includes university students and young professionals, developed this tool to help identify fishes in Singapore's murky waters.
Advanced Image Recognition: The app features an image recognition model capable of identifying more than 900 fish species.
High Accuracy Rates: Lead developer Brian Sng collated and vetted over 90,000 photos to train the AI, achieving an impressive 82.7% accuracy rate.
Promoting Conservation: To encourage sustainable fishing, the app includes a pop-up feature that alerts users if a scanned fish is a protected, rare, or harmful species, advising them to release endangered catches.
Enabling Citizen Science: Because counting fish populations visually in Singapore is challenging, data collected by anglers via the app helps scientists monitor marine biodiversity and supplements official surveys.
Lyza Education: Fostering the Next Generation of AI Innovators
At Lyza Education, we believe in giving students the practical tools they need to build real-world solutions. Just as the creators of the SGFish app used machine learning to solve marine identification challenges, students at Lyza Education have learnt about Machine Learning too, learning how to harness AI to tackle waste management through our hands-on Kebbi AI Eco-Sorter workshop, recently held during the September holidays.
Building the Kebbi AI Eco-Sorter
Our comprehensive workshop teaches students the fundamentals of AI, machine learning, and sustainability. Through this program, students build their own AI-powered recycling assistant with the help of LumoLearn and our very own AI social robot Kebbi.
Training a Machine Learning Model: Students collect around photos of different recyclable and non-recyclable items from various angles and distances. They use these varied examples to train a Machine Learning model to recognise patterns and make predictions about items.
Developing a Generative AI Assistant: Students configure their assistant by writing a system prompt that instructs the AI to act as a friendly recycling assistant.
Integrating with CodeLab: Finally, students connect these components using CodeLab. They program the Kebbi robot to scan an item using its camera, predict whether it can be recycled, and answer user questions using the knowledge base.
Did you know? |
Young learners in Singapore don't just study AI theory, they actively build functional AI tools using LumoLearn! At Lyza Education, children aged 7 to 9 transition into intermediate courses where they gain hands-on experience with core AI concepts. Through practical projects, such as training computer vision models and building generative AI assistants, students develop critical problem-solving skills and learn how to apply artificial intelligence to real-world challenges. |
Why AI Education Matters
By combining technology with environmental causes, whether through identifying fish species or sorting recyclables, we can inspire students to become proactive problem-solvers. Learning AI not only builds vital technical proficiency but also encourages critical thinking and environmental stewardship.
Ready to Empower Your Child to Build the Future with AI?
Give your child the skills to transform from passive technology consumers into innovative creators. At Lyza Education, our progressive AI and coding programs empower young minds (ages 7 and up) to build real-world AI projects using LumoLearn and smart robots like Kebbi.
Comments