RoboHub Kids – The Digital Hub to trial new programme this February/March

The Digital Hub and Akara Robotics have teamed up to deliver a new learning programme for a group of 10-year-olds from a local school in Dublin 8, St. Brigid's. Primary School, The Coombe. Over five weeks 22 youngsters will visit The Digital Hub weekly to learn about robotics, coding, sensors and create their own small robotic buggy, which will be put to the test in a carefully designed obstacle course.

RoboHub Kids is a short STEM learning programme, which starts on 22nd February, and is intended to excite young people about the world of software, engineering and robotics.  Following this pilot run with a local school, it will be rolled out to other primary schools in the community of Dublin 8.

The programme tutors are experts from academia and industry and include people working with Akara Robotics, whose patented technologies help hospitals perform more procedures and reduce infections through faster and more efficient room decontamination, powered by cutting-edge robotic automation and AI.

Sessions include:

Session 1 – Electricity:
The session is all about electricity. The very basics of what it is, and how we can use it to do useful things. The students will get hands on with wires, batteries, lights and motors, building, breaking and repairing, as necessary. They’ll learn about circuits and about how the direction of the current flow will change the effect on the light or motor.

Session 2 – Buggy Building:
This session is the start of the journey towards their final goal of building an autonomous robot. In this session they’ll get hands-on with screwdrivers, nuts, bolts and a lot more wires. They’ll assemble their robotic buggies, tackling both the mechanical and electronic systems as they begin to bring their new robotic friend to life.

Session 3 – Code:
For the first time the students will be introduced to software. They will get a grasp on how lines of words on a computer screen can change things in the real world. This will culminate in a spectacular and unique light show which they will design and execute themselves.

Session 4 – Driving (Badly):
The students combine their experience with code and their assembled buggies and begin to get them moving. In this session the students will write several functions, commanding their robot to go forward, turn right, turn left and most importantly stop! They will then compete to see who can bake their buggy follow a winding corridor without crashing.

Session 5 – Autonomous Robots:
The grand finale will see the students combine all their work and experience to date and will test their skills to the limit as they add sensors to their buggy. For the first time allowing it to “see” the world around it and transforming it from a buggy to a robot. This will again end in a competition to see which buggy can best execute a carefully designed obstacle course.

For more information on RoboHub Kids please email info@thedigitalhub.com

Click here for details on other learning programmes from The Digital Hub and partners.