Pupil’s aim to build robot maid

ALEXANDRA township in Gauteng might in the near future produce a robot with cooking skills.

That is the vision of a Grade 10 pupil who took part in this year’s AfrikaBOT robotics competition‚ held yesterday at the Zwartkops International Raceway in Centurion.

Tshegofatso Mampuru and three of her schoolmates built a small sensordriven robot that drove through a maze without any remote control.

The challenge for participants was to have their robot going through the board faster than other competitors.

The Alexandra girls’ robot was not fast enough on the day‚ but taking part in the competition has motivated Mampuru.

“I want to build a robot that can prepare meals and assist with cleaning in the house. This will give people more time to relax and do other things.

“I have started doing my research and I am confident that one day my dream will become a reality‚” said Mampuru.

The 16 Alexandra High pupils who participated in the competition started assembling their robots in March.

More than 40 junior and senior Gauteng schools took part in the challenge‚ hosted by the University of Johannesburg Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment Technolab.

Event organiser Michael Ettershank said AfrikaBOT was designed to stimulate pupils to consider careers in advanced technology and engineering.

“The robots are world-class and could hold their own in overseas competitions.

“For now, funding is our main challenge but we would love to see this competition being adopted by institutions in other provinces because pupils have embraced it. “It makes learning fun‚” he said. The winners received trophies. — DDC