KUCHING: Age is no limit to trying one’s hand at digital innovation and robotics, as seen in the vast number of young students attending the Borneo International Drone and Robotics Explore (Drobotex) 2019.
A number of these students also displayed their inventive projects at the event, such as Angeliana Ubau Winston Tachil and Nur Ifti Fatiha Julaihi, Primary 6 pupils from SK St Teresa here.
Inspired by watching their respective mothers who work as teachers juggling house chores, the pair had come up with an automatic sensor clothes line.
“With this clothes line, clothes can be hung outside under the sun. When the humidity sensor detects that it is about to rain, it will automatically pull the clothes into a roofed area,” explained Angeliana.
“So with this, you do not have to rush to get the laundry in if it is about to rain,” added Nur Ifti.
They expressed hope that their unique concept could potentially be developed into an applicable product.
“It took us more than 12 hours to make this prototype. But to make a proper one, maybe we would need more than a week,” stated Angeliana.
Although they had received some help from their parents and teachers with supplies, most of the coding was done by the pair.
Meanwhile, Sim Zi Yan and Max Alister Harry Entebang from SK Jalan Ong Tiang Swee developed a motorised drink carrier called Protogo.
“If my mother wants to pass me a drink, for example, she can put it in this cart and it will deliver it over,” explained Max.
Sim shared that he enjoyed dabbling in this digital field as he believed it could increase his creativity while helping him gain more skills.
“Maybe in the future, I can become a game or app developer. That is what I want to do when I grow up,” he said hopefully.
According to the pair, they learned how to create their project by attending a four-day workshop which taught them about DC motors, Bluetooth, and 3D-printing.
“In my next project, I might want to build a mini motorised truck which can collect rubbish,” remarked Sim.
An exhibitor at Drobotex 2019 and co-founder of the Learning Curve, Kenneth Chai said that robots are only capable of doing what they are programmed to do.
“They are very good at replicating and repeating our patterns. The only thing robots cannot do right now is to learn,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
However, they can be applied to almost every field if the task at hand is repetitive and programmable, such as building cars and carrying out factory jobs.
“Jobs that require learning, improving oneself, innovation — robots would not be able to do.”
