LIKE many schoolboys, they love football. And being on their phones. And when they aren’t playing the one, they’re glued to the other.
Homework, on the other hand, isn’t exactly up there on the brothers’ list of favourite things to do. And asking their dad for help when they’re stuck isn’t always possible, not when he’s a single parent with a demanding job.
Which is why Siyanda and Siyabulela Ndlovu came up with the idea of a tutor that can accompany them anywhere and be available at any time.
Their invention is called SiyaTutor, a WhatsApp-based chatbot designed to help kids from Grade 1 to matric by answering questions they have about subjects in the CAPS curriculum.
The bot was launched in early July and a week later it had 10 000 users, thanks to word of mouth and articles in the media. It now has 70 000 users.
“I was amazed at how the numbers sky-rocketed,” Siyanda tells YOU.
SiyaTutor answers over 10 000 messages in a day, he adds. “It can explain case studies or help you understand a certain word in a comprehension.”
Siyanda (16) and Siyabulela (10), who live in Centurion with dad Sphumelele (36) and little sister Endinako (2), are proud of what they’ve achieved.
The boys spent several months watching YouTube videos, researching chatbots and AI to find out how their tutor bot could be built. Sphumelele, a senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, enlisted the help of computer boffin friends Dr Teboho Bell and Jongilizwe Gqozo.
SiyaTutor’s cloud-based server is linked to information available online, includ- ing books, articles, previous exam papers and online tutorials, Sphumelele says.
“We used past exam papers to test the bot and it scored a total average of 95%.”
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 31 August 2023 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 31 August 2023 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it
