Six children on the Coast have created a robot meant to help people with disabilities and have also evaluated B.C. Ferries' service to these members of our community.
Johno Robson, Philip Klippenstein, Terran Tasci, Sarah Roberts, Oliver Gidora and Kiel Strang are students aged nine to 13 who call themselves the Roberts Creek Extreme Robotic Minds (RCXRM).
They are a group of primarily home-schooled students who are competing in the First Lego League, an international program that combines a hands-on robotics program with a research assignment. This year the theme was helping people with disabilities, and the local kids learned a lot from their research.
"We learned that people can be a lot more helpful," said Kiel. "Just opening doors for people can make a big difference."
The students spent weeks interviewing locals who live with disabilities ranging from loss of sight to paralysis. They then spent time role-playing as if they were disabled and took a trip on B.C. Ferries.
They found many areas where B.C. Ferries could improve service for people with disabilities and made a presentation of their findings to B.C. Ferries staff at Langdale terminal.
"One recommendation was to extend handrails on the stairways," said Sarah. Currently the handrails have breaks between them on the stairways. The RCXRM team also recommended a larger elevator for people using motorized scooters, table service in the cafeteria, automated washrooms and elevator service to the sun deck where the life rafts are stored.
"We were surprised to find there was no access to the sun deck for people with disabilities," added Kiel. "We were told that in the event of an emergency, people with disabilities would be carried by B.C. Ferries staff to the sun deck."
The team also created a working model of a ferry shuttle that would deliver people with disabilities directly to the passenger deck.
B.C. Ferries staff was appreciative of the students' work and said they would take the recommendations into consideration during their terminal upgrades to will be completed by 2020.
The other component of the students' work for the First Lego League competition is the miniature robot they created to help with common tasks like picking up glasses, carrying food to a table and opening doors.
The robot was created by the students using sensors, various computer programs, a motor and Lego provided by the First Lego League.
The students will take turns at the competition held in Vancouver this weekend to change attachments and programs on the robot and run it through a tabletop course. The course has various components the robot must complete, such as picking up a CD and putting it back in its case, throwing a ball into a basket, delivering food to a table, opening a door, lowering a flag and climbing a set of stairs.
The team will have about two and a half minutes to complete their run through the course with the robot and will be marked on speed and accuracy.
Last year the team competed and came home with a second place trophy. They also won first in research but each team can be awarded only one trophy as per the First Lego League rules.
The team is excited about their chances at this year's competition and can't wait to share their research with the judges. For more information on the First Lego League go to www.firstlegoleague.org.
