YOU can order them to dance or send them on a search-and-rescue mission — robots can do pretty much anything.
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That was a lesson for Trinity Anglican College students yesterday when they built and programmed their own.
The school has set up a robotics course after receiving a $10,000 grant from the Association of Independent Schools.
The Association’s STEM project aims to lift the number of students taking up science, technology, engineering and maths.
Trinity technology teacher Malcolm Thomas said the students were learning to build robots out of Lego and would compete in the RoboCup competition later this year.
One of the challenges for the students will be to design robots that can follow a track to an oil spill and search for a person in trouble and deliver them back to safety.
The more of the track their robots complete and obstacles they tackle, the more points the students earn.
Mr Thomas said robotics connected students to their other subjects.
“It helps them with English because they have to record what they are doing and write reports and create a portfolio,” he said.
The robots also helped students with data-logging information such as temperature.
They could also use their maths skills to determine the speed at which robots travelled.
“The students are all engaged and super keen,” Mr Thomas said.
The students’ robots have ultra-sonic senses and can detect distance, colour and sound.
