IEEE Student Branch delivers robotic outreach to local school children

The University of Kent IEEE Student Branch was invited to Egerton Church of England Primary School, Ashford, Kent on 27th May for an outreach visit. The IEEE team delivered sessions using the School’s NAO robots. During the sessions, the children had the opportunity to interact with the robots and also see them in action. In the interactive sessions, the children had to build a puzzle.

The puzzle used for the activity was the Chinese puzzle called Tangram. It consists of a square cut into seven pieces which can be arranged to build various other shapes. The children had to use all the pieces to form shapes. After finishing their work, the pupils were able to show their work to one of the robots, which would recognise the puzzle or ask what they have built.

The robot showcased its self-awareness behaviour which allows it to respond to sounds and movement while in idle mode. ‘Choregraphe’, the software provided by Aldebaran Robotics, was displayed on a TV screen. This allowed the pupils to see how the robot works. Each session closed with a dancing routine and a thank you massage by one of the Nao robots. The students were excited and asked various questions about the robot and robotics ranging from technical to abstract.

Overall, the children and the members of staff enjoyed the activities and were very keen to learn new things about robotics.