Their story, in their words…
At the start of our project, we had no idea how to start our project. We researched how a bipedal robot works, how to code using Arduino, how to design 3D objects, etc. Our main designer, Oreoluwa, designed a very impressive human-like robot using Fusion 360 . However, we realised that it was too large and heavy for our budget and available printing time. Thus, he restarted the design, spending many hours redesigning and refining the new robot.
Meanwhile, Nevir searched for the right circuit parts to get the robot moving, ensuring that everything was within budget and from a reliable source. At the same time, we made code to move the servos, make a blinking eye on the display screen, and to interact with the robot via a web browser.
As we prepared to bring everything together, we encountered our biggest challenge: 3D printing. It was way past our budget. We spent months trying to find a good printer for a cheap price. For a very long time, we searched for affordable printing options, even accidentally printing a miniature robot . Eventually, we assembled the robot and got the display running.
Through this long journey, we learnt many skills such as coding, designing, budgeting, research and much more. We also learnt how to effectively manage our time, plan and work as a team. We had many ups and downs over our journey, sometimes feeling overwhelmed by the challenge, but we surpassed them as a team and now feel very happy about the outcome. We are extremely grateful to the MEF team for this amazing opportunity and hope that they continue to push students to try new challenges which push them to higher levels.
