Robotics seminar from the German School
A robotics lesson at school? It may seem like a scenario from the distant future, but in reality it only requires a little love for physics, mathematics, IT, technology and research and a lot of curiosity. This was demonstrated by 16 middle and high school students in Thessaloniki - including a 13-year-old! - who, in just two days and 12 laboratory hours, each managed to build their own robot, a car measuring 20x20x20 cm, which can move freely in space, identifying and avoiding obstacles, using sensors.
Students "took a tour" of the wonderful world of robotic technology as part of a Robotics seminar organized by the German School of Thessaloniki. The robots were presented to the public at a recent special event.
"Do it yourself: Robo-cars, alarm or weather station from 50 euros"
To build the robots, the students were taught how to use the Arduino microcontroller. This is the most widely used free, open-source electronics development platform. “The idea was to find children who could cope with higher performance than that required by a ready-made robotic kit, from those available on the market,” explains Michalis Sevdinidis, a physics professor at the German School of Thessaloniki and head of the robotics seminar, to ΑΕΠΕ-ΜΕΑ.
As he explains, the advantage of the Arduino computing platform is that someone can build a robot and sell it, while the cost of construction is many times lower than the assembled robotic kits on the market. "Each of the cars cost about 50 euros, while with a conversion and an additional small amount of around 5 euros, the students could build a weather station or an alarm," he explains.
To build a robot with Arduino, one does not need specialized knowledge of electronics, however, according to the professor, it is difficult to use and requires programming knowledge, "that is why it is very important that children who had no connection to the subject, complete beginners in robotics, managed to build an autonomous robot car in a few hours.".
Pursuing collaborations with universities and companies
"We succeeded," says Mr. Sevdinidis with joy, who believes that the robotics seminar for students can be established as an institution. In fact, for the scientific support of the effort, contact has been made with a German Technical University, while collaborations with Greek university institutions, as well as companies active in the field of robotics, are being sought and examined.
"With the students who participated in the seminar, we will be happy to have a continuation of contact and communication on a personal level. The teachers who participated in the program are willing to help in whatever way could promote the students, to support their dream of starting their own company in the future," the professor points out.
Source: protothema.gr
