Greenside High School started their robotics classes as an extra mural activity at the beginning of 2008, which has now grown in leaps and bounds.
“The classes are taught by a devoted parent, Anne Ginster, whose invaluable input has led to the success of the programme. The pupils devote enormous amounts of time to perfecting their art when it comes to robotics,” said Ritesh Hariram, a teacher at the school, who oversees the programme.
Pupils Tinotenda Mudzinga, Leilah Bhyat, Ofentse Thinana, Andy Sobuwa, Ubaidullah Brown, Mohammed Kai, Zaheer Sooliman, Abdul Gangat, Neil Jadav, Luqmaan Sheik and Tariq Mohammed, recently competed in the World Robotics Olympiad, nationals. The awards were hosted by Tshwane University and up for grabs was a trip to India to represent South Africa at the world olympiad.
This year, the teams that entered the Junior High category had to develop an autonomous system themed around recycling. Team Junkanators (Jadav, Shiek and Mohammed) developed a robot that would gather litter from a veld and find a viable site to deposit it for recycling.
Team Silverstar (Sooliman, Gangat and Newman) developed an automated system using the programmable Lego Brick to turn old plastic bags into wearable bangles. “The display and level of programming for this demonstration was mind-boggling and had judges and enthusiasts alike in awe of their presentation,” said Hariram.
Another team, Team Diamond Crafters (Brown, Sobuwa and Kai) developed a robot that, upon activation at a fast food outlet, will approach a table and dispose of litter. The robot was designed to bring a bin to your table to prompt people to separate their waste. “The level of programming here was again phenomenal and the judges were thrilled,” he added.
Team Junkantors was awarded the Enthusiasm Award for the team that displayed the most enthusiasm throughout the day. Team Silverstar received a bronze medal in the Junior High category.
Team Diamond Crafters were the eventual winners of the Junior High category and received a gold medal.
The team and their coach and mentor, Ginster, will represent South Africa in India, for the world olympiad in November. “We are extremely proud of Brown, Sobuwa and Kai and we wish them well,” concluded Hariram.
A separate category of the olympiad is the Football Challenge. In this category, pupils have to build and programme a robot to play a soccer match. Stevens Ndawonde and Philip Ginster represented Greenside High School in this category and finished fourth in the competition.
