Every generation prepares its children for the world they are likely to inherit. Mathematical thinking was needed during the Industrial Revolution, as machines changed the way things were produced. With the advent of the digital revolution, computer literacy was required as software changed the face of all industries. None of these became foundational because education systems chose them. They became foundational because the world changed. Another change takes place today.
For the past decade, AI has been a silent force behind the screen. It responded to questions, produced content and analysed information. The notion of AI as software became one of our initial ideas. That definition is already becoming incomplete. Intelligence is now moving into the physical world. It performs tasks in warehouses, checks infrastructure, supports surgeons, crops and collaborates with humans in factories. Physical AI represents a paradigm shift in the ways intelligence is developed, deployed and experienced. According to the International Federation of Robotics, 542,000 industrial robots were installed globally in 2024 alone, taking the worldwide operational stock to more than 4.6 million machines. Almost 75% of new installations were in Asia.
Physical AI is no longer an emerging concept. It is becoming a part of the productive infrastructure of the world. That shift extends beyond technology. It alters the curriculum for future generations. Each technological revolution has broadened the definition of literacy. There is a possibility that robotics becomes the next foundational literacy as intelligence is not limited to software. It is beginning to interact with the physical world. This is why robotics deserves a different conversation. It is still widely viewed as a specialised engineering discipline or an extracurricular STEM activity. That perspective misses its educational value.
Robotics integrates artificial intelligence, engineering, mechanics, electronics, and design and systems thinking into one learning experience. Students are taught how intelligent systems perceive their environment, make decisions, and interact with humans and operate safely in dynamic environments. AI literacy enables students to grasp the learning process, reasoning, and knowledge generation of intelligent systems. In the real world, with robotics, all actions rely on sensing, movement, mechanics, and the interplay of data and design. Students have hands-on experience in these connections. Mathematics becomes movement. Physics becomes behaviour.
Programming becomes action. Knowledge stops existing as isolated subjects and begins to function as an integrated system. The discussion on AI literacy is both timely and necessary. All students should be aware of the impact of intelligent systems on decisions and society. But, in a growing number of cases, those systems are embedded in moving, adapting and interacting with humans. Consider a modern warehouse. What appears to be a robot transporting a pallet is actually an ecosystem of technologies working together.
Computer vision is the process of understanding the environment from a computer. AI makes decisions in real time. Sensors generate continuous streams of data. Autonomous systems coordinate movement, humans supervise, intervene and optimise when necessary. Realizing that ecosystem goes beyond software skills. It demands knowledge of the intelligent physical systems. This is being increasingly backed by educational research. Several meta analyses indicate that robotics based learning promotes computational thinking, problem solving, collaboration and creativity due to the student’s learning by experimentation rather than memorisation.
One recent study found that children participating in robotics programmes developed communication, teamwork, critical thinking and creativity more holistically than those in conventional classrooms. Each prototype is turned into a hypothesis. All failures result in feedback. Every iteration deepens understanding. India can play a leading role in this transition. The National Education Policy 2020 has already brought a change in education towards multidisciplinary learning, experiential problem solving and creativity.
Over 11 million students have been introduced to hands on innovation through robotics, AI and maker education via more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs. Meanwhile, India’s robotics ecosystem is growing at a fast pace. Industrial robot installations grew by 59 percent in 2023, one of the fastest growth rates globally. There is a start of alignment between education and industry. The curriculum should follow them. The workforce is evolving just as quickly.
People will be working with intelligent machines more and more in manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, agriculture and infrastructure. Future readiness is dependent on systems thinking, technological fluency and responsible engagement with AI, say global organisations such as UNESCO, OECD and the World Economic Forum. With intelligence becoming embodied in machines, the capabilities are naturally extended to robotics as well.
The real question is no longer whether robotics belongs in classrooms. It is whether classrooms can prepare students for a world where intelligence increasingly exists beyond the screen. As reading and mathematics were once the languages of the past, robotics is now the language of the Physical AI age. The sooner the education system adapts to that reality, the more empowered the next generation will be to change it.
(THE WRITER IS THE CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, ADDVERB)