Development of low-cost IoT devices to encourage STEM skills in Guatemalan environments

Abstract

Industry 4.0 was first introduced in Germany in 2006. As leading countries of this initiative, we can mention various European and Asian countries and the United States. The main axis that Industry 4.0 has are Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality, 3D Printing, Cloud Computing, among others. Guatemala is becoming a technology hub country. Various web development or BPO companies have migrated their technology departments to our country because people have well developed STEM skills. Their main activities involved web development, infrastructure and help desk collaborations. However, hardware development is not an economic pillar to develop our country yet. In Universidad Galileo we created academic and outreach programs based on IoT to change the mindset of young students and professionals to become technology producers and not only technology consumers or users. Our two-year research, the workshops developed, and the feedback obtained by participants in our technology events ensures that our STEM programs are building the correct skills in people to help develop Industry 4.0 in Guatemala.