Cheered on by her mother Angela – who had just finished carrying the Olympic torch at Barrmill in North Ayrshire – Hazel Oakley, a winner at Saturday’s Scottish Robotic Games hosted by SELEX Galileo, demonstrated how easily children can perform leaps forward in innovation!
Hazel was just one of hundreds of children and air cadets from across Scotland to travel to Crewe Toll to participate in a range of challenges from obstacle courses, to football and sumo at SELEX Galileo HQ. Just before setting Kilsyth Academy’s robot,’George’, on the obstacle course, Hazel decided to attach her mobile phone to her robot, so that it could record its circuit around the Scottish Robotic Games obstacle course!
Allan Colquhoun, University Liaison and Emerging Technologies Manager said: ‘I’m often struck by the ease with which young people seem to be able to innovate, if given the right opportunity to do so. I was impressed by Hazel’s ingenuity, and throughout the day I saw children adjusting their robots, repairing them and really getting into the nuts and bolts of their functionality. It’s these little leaps forward that will give kids confidence to tackle bigger technical challenges.’
Peter Bennett, Director of the Rampaging Chariots Guild, and one of the founders of the Scottish Robotic Games added: ‘The day went like clockwork and every team had a superb time. The whole production was highly professional and was a tremendous credit to SELEX Galileo.’
The children watched Aris Valtazanos from Edinburgh University’s Infomatics team bring their robotic creation to life, as it managed to demonstrate its impressive football skills, shooting a series of goals using its sensor system, with the ability to scramble to its feet after falling down.
Peter Dillon, Deputy Vice President, Supply Chain UK, Edinburgh would like to thank all those who generously gave their time to support the event.
SELEX Galileo
