Twenty-five local middle-schoolers caught a glimpse into their future STEM careers with a hands-on robotics workshop.
The Loganlea State High School students last Friday headed to the innovation lab of construction equipment manufacturer Komatsu.
There, the 12 to 15-year-olds remotely controlled rovers using cloud-based technology – the same technology used to manoeuvre larger vehicles in the mining and construction industries.
Students learned about sensor systems, wireless communication, cloud data, and how to code and apply these new skills to control a robot platform.
Komatsu Australia’s National RTO and Technical Capability Manager Matthew Tosolini said fun, educational programs like this would help lead students into “real-world jobs” after graduation.
He said the innovative skills they were learning were essential to leading “the future of our industry.”
“It’s about showcasing what industry has to offer them outside of what they traditionally understand a person in mining or construction does,” Mr Tosolini said.
“I started with Komatsu 23 years ago, sid I ever think we would employ drone pilots back then? Probably not.
“It’s about showing [students] that they can code a matchbox car, and then when they finish school, they can code a 300-tonne dump truck.”
He said Friday’s interactive program was a whole lot of fun for students, allowing them to test real-world vehicles in real time with simulations and challenges.
“It’s broken into three sessions – the first part is awareness around AI tools, different coding tools, and different ways to utilise STEM systems,” Ms Tosolini said.
“The second section is when they actually start to put that learning into place.
“They get a robotic car, for example, and they write a code to follow a track autonomously and report back using cloud-based data analytics to understand: are the wheels getting hot, is the engine overheating, is the transmission, ok?”
“The third part of the day is giving them free rein to use the tools and skills they’ve touched on to come up with an interesting way of how industry can use those tools and programs.
“Whether it be proximity sensing so cars don’t run into each other, or an AI camera to pick up a face so that person is the only one who can turn the machine on.”
He said Friday’s challenge was part of the company’s broader STEM education program, which is run in partnership with education organisation STEMPunks.
CEO Michael Holmstrom said the company worked with schools across the country to teach science, technology, engineering and maths programs.
“The partnership with Komatsu in the delivery of the ‘Autonomous Machines & Systems’ program, has a core aim to provide insights into leading industries and to enable future career pathways,” Mr Holmstrom said.
