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KISS INSTITUTE FOR PRACTICAL ROBOTICS
  • Offer Profile
  • KISS Institute for Practical Robotics is a not-for-profit educational organization that uses hands on robotics programs in order to communicate the excitement, knowledge, and practical understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math.

    Mission
    • Improve the public's understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math;
    • Develop the skills, character, and aspirations of students; and
    • Contribute to the enrichment of our school systems, communities, and the nation.
Product Portfolio
  • About Us

  • KISS Institute for Practical Robotics is a not-for-profit educational organization that uses hands on robotics programs in order to communicate the excitement, knowledge, and practical understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math.

    Mission:
    • Improve the public's understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math;
    • Develop the skills, character, and aspirations of students; and
    • Contribute to the enrichment of our school systems, communities, and the nation.

    History:
    KISS Institute for Practical Robotics was incorporated as a 501(c) 3 organization in 1994 to make the long-term educational benefits of robotics accessible to students. We’re based in beautiful Norman, Oklahoma. Our name is the well-known acronym (Keep It Simple, Stupid), and students tell us that this motto has been quite useful in designing their robots.

    KISS Institute for Practical Robotics is the leading provider of programming based educational robotics programs.

    Over 300 teams of middle and high school students, and their teachers, participated in our Botball® Educational Robotics Program in 2010, including teams from Qatar. Over 1,000 individuals participated in our hands-on Botball® robotics workshops that took place in 13 regions across the country.

    We are a national organization with a small cheerful staff, and many essential volunteers, sponsors, and other members of the Botball® family across the country, from Massachusetts to Hawaii. We create most of our products in house.
  • Robotics Education:

  • KISS Institute is involved in several individual educational robotics activities, however, our principal programs are the:
    • Botball Educational Robotics Program

    • The Botball® Educational Robotics Program engages middle and high school aged students in a team-oriented robotics competition, and serves as a perfect way to meet today’s new common core standards.

      By designing, building, programming, and documenting robots, students use science, engineering, technology, math, and writing skills in a hands-on project that reinforces their learning.
      Students are exposed to an inquiry-based, learn-by-doing activity that appeals to their hearts as well as their minds.

      Botball® addresses our nation’s need for a well-prepared, creative, yet disciplined workforce with leadership and teamwork experience.
      Botball® is supported by many sponsors including the NASA Robotics Alliance Project and the Naval Research Laboratory.
    • Global Conference on Educational Robotics

    • The 2013 Global Conference on Educational Robotics will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center in Norman, Oklahoma from July 6 - July 10, 2013 with preconference on July 5th.

      You are invited to join us for the 2013 Global Conference on Educational Robotics in Norman, Oklahoma from July 6th through July 10th.

      Everyone interested in robotics and STEM education is encouraged to attend the conference! Each year middle school and high school students, educators, robotics enthusiasts, and professionals from across the world gather to connect with peers, discuss technology-related ideas, and cheer on their favorite teams during two exciting autonomous robot tournaments.

      Registration for the 2013 Global Conference will open in March, 2013.
    • KIPR Open Autonomous Robot Game

    • The KIPR Open Autonomous Robotics Game (formerly known as Beyond Botball®) is distributed by KISS Institute for Practical Robotics to encourage ongoing robotics education beyond the high school level.

      College and university educators are encouraged to use the KIPR Open game as a project in their science and engineering courses. Mentors, parents and teachers of Botball® teams are encouraged to focus their own creative energies into a solution for the KIPR Open (let the kids build their own robots!).

      If you or your organization holds a robotics event using the KIPR Open game, please let us know so we can list it at our web site.

       
  • Products

  • In the course of our educational mission, KISS Institute has developed a variety of robotics products and technologies.

    Robot Kits and Materials

    KISS Institute produces and distributes a variety of robot kits and materials.
  • Robot Controllers

    • KIPR Link

    • KIPR Link is an easy to use and powerful linux-based robot controller. It aims to be simple enough for a middle schooler, powerful enough for a researcher, and versatile enough for the hobbyist.
    • CBC

    • The CBC v2 is a Linux-based robot controller designed by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics for use with the KISS-C programming environment.

      Featuring significant hardware and usability improvements over its predecessor, the CBC v2 is both a beginner-friendly choice for newcomers to robotics, and a powerful, feature-rich device that will appeal to experts.
    • XBC

    • The XBC is a new design for a robot controller merging a modern ARM processor with an FPGA that allows high performance, especially in vision processing and motor control, for a cost similar to controllers with a fraction of its capabilities.
  • KISS Software

  • KISS Platform

  • KISS Platform is the successor to KISS C (see below.) KISS (the KIPR Instructional Software System) Platform is a programming environment developed by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics for use in the robotics classroom. The current version of KISS IDE supports the ANSI C, C++, and Java languages for your computer (running, Windows, Mac OS X or Linux) and for the KIPR Link robot controller.
  • KISS IDE

  • KISS IDE is the successor to KISS C (see below.) KISS (the KIPR Instructional Software System) IDE is the multiplatform programming environment developed by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics for use in the robotics classroom. The current version of KISS IDE supports the ANSI C, C++, and Java languages for your computer (running, Windows, Mac OS X or Linux) and for the CBC series of robot controller.
  • KISS C

  • KISS IDE should be used instead of KISS C for new projects. KISS (the KIPR Instructional Software System) C is the multiplatform programming environment developed by the KISS Institute for Practical Robotics for use in the robotics classroom. The current version of KISS supports the ANSI C language for your computer (running, Windows, Mac OS X or Linux (Ubuntu)) and for the CBC series of robot controller.
  • Interactive C 8

  • IC 8 is provided as a service to educators and the general public. The software was used for the the Botball Educational Robotics Program prior to 2009. We invite you to download and use the software, but please note that it is not actively supported. KISS Institute welcomes your suggestions for added features as well as bug reports.

    At this time, IC Supports the Xport Botball Controller (XBC), the Handy Board with Expansion Board, the Sumo11, and the Lego RCX using the serial IR tower only. There is currently no support for the USB IR tower.
  • KISS Institute Events

  • KISS Institute for Practical Robotics hosts events and contests throughout the year to organize and engage various STEM initiatives for students, mentors, and teachers. Please visit the links below to check out all the details for our current and past events.

    2013:
    • 2013 Global Conference on Educational Robotics
    • 2013 Regional Botball® Workshops and Tournaments
    2012:
    • 2012 School's Out Robotics Camp
    2011:
    • 2011 KIPR Autonomous Aerial Vehicle
    • 2011 KIPR Video Showcase
    2010:
    • 2010 KIPR Video Showcase