Lesedi Moloi, from Reddford House Blue Hills in Midrand achieved global recognition for her robot invention in the Inspired Builds Global Robotics Competition 2023, a premier global inter-school technology challenge.
Lesedi (12) said she did not think she would win competing but remains proud of her achievement.
Competing in the ages 11-12 category, Lesedi, designed an innovative robotics sorter. This piece of technology efficiently organises rubbish (in the form of Lego blocks) into various recycling categories.
“I made a colour sorter that senses the colours and distributes them into different places. I wanted to make a machine like this so I know what concept to use to make a junk or trash sorter for litter. Some people think that all environmental innovations are great for the environment but in actuality, some of them harm the environment by how they are made and how it is used. Some innovations produce pollution while they are ‘helping the environment’,” said Lesedi.
Asked what she was hoping to be when she finished school, Lesedi said she would like to be an innovator and make machines to use in the criminology department and auditing department as she would also like to become a forensic auditor or a criminologist.
The fierce competition saw 111 schools in 24 countries across five continents compete for dominance.
Lesedi and five students from Reddam House Bedfordview propelled South Africa into the spotlight, clinching awards in three of the six age categories.
Reflecting on this achievement Michael Maher, a robotics teacher from Reddford House Blue Hills said Lesedi’s work was a shining example of technical acumen and environmental awareness.
“Her ability to seamlessly code and execute the robot’s function left us all in awe. As a school, we are very proud of Lesedi’s achievement and could not be happier for her. She put in a lot of work for this competition and worked a lot of hours to build and code her robot. She has given the school such a good name by doing so well in the coding competition,” said Maher.
The competition challenges young innovators aged 7 to 13 to design and create robots under a different theme each year.
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