In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the Robots sleep tonight… Or not?
by Chang Yi Xuan Giselle
For the SIMC2.0 Explore AI Robotics for a Smart Nation Workshop participants, it appears that neither they, nor the robots which they are building, will be ‘sleeping’ much this week. In fact, they’ve been here at NUS High School since early morning, participating in the camp with boundless energy.
To wake the participants up from the quiet of the ‘jungle’, they were introduced to an Artificial Intelligence Robotics experience, one of many activities for them to look forward to this week. During the briefing, it was highlighted that the camp was not just about building a robot, but rather about developing the skills to think, adapt, and learn. Another key learning outcome was to understand the concepts behind why something works or fails.
After the briefing and opening ceremony, the participants began taking part in various icebreakers to get to know each other. Participants from different schools competed to build the strongest tower with an unconventional material: chopsticks! Some participants said that they would “make use of all the items provided”, and perhaps just “go with the flow”. Other students motivated one another to “keep going”, and others yet, “hope[d] for the best”.
One of the groups was especially confident that they could emerge as victors; when asked what made their tower stand out, he said,
“It’s not about [the] height… it’s about how strong it is.” — Pua Yu Hao, Anglican High School
Afterwards, participants embarked on their journey for the 4-day Intensive Bootcamp under the AI Robotics for a Smart Nation Workshop. An instructor guided the participants in navigating a novel AI robot and helped equip them with coding skills to integrate their code into the robot. The participants also had the chance to view a live demonstration of the robot and do hands-on experiments with it, and they will continue to work with the robot’s code over the course of the camp.
The participants were also briefed on the two prestigious awards that they could stand a chance to win: The Smart Sparks Award and the AI Trailblazers Award. The two awards work together to encourage the participants to engage in purposeful AI usage, growth in learning, and critical judgment.
Throughout this week, as the students continue to code their robots, we bear witness to the birth of a limitless, vibrant festival of technology, and a lively jungle of exploring robots. See you tomorrow for the continuation of the camp, where the participants utilise their endless creativity and wits!