University of Hertfordshire Robots Land in Local Schools
Mr S. Benzid, Curriculum Leader: IT & Computing, writes:
To celebrate UK Robotics Week 2018 (25th-29th June) researchers from the University of Hertfordshire’s Adaptive Systems Research Group gave Stanborough school students the chance to experiment first-hand with an interactive robot. The Robot involved in the hands-on sessions was Pepper, a humanoid robot designed to be a day-to-day companion.
Dr Luke Wood, Research Fellow in Human-Robot Interaction at the University of Hertfordshire said: “We are delighted to be able to run these events giving local school pupils the opportunity to interact and programme our robots and to learn more about social robotics. The University of Hertfordshire is committed to education outreach, we want to inspire the next generation of computer scientists and make children see that robotics is an accessible, exciting career.” University researchers guided Year 10 GCSE Computer Science students on how to programme the Pepper robot. Students gave Pepper customised emotions created and designed by themselves and learned about the practical applications and challenges of programming state-of-the-art robots.
Student Comments:
“It was very interesting and educational.” Kem Wachuku (10 Offley)
“I was really excited and pleased with the experience and I enjoyed meeting Pepper.”
David Oladejo (10 Offley)
“The day was enjoyable and we all learned a lot. I am now considering a career in Robotics.”
Ella Mason (10 Offley)
