High school students learn to program NAO robots at UTEC

In order to show high school students that engineering is exciting, inspiring and capable of driving technological development in Peru, the Universidad de Ingeniería & Tecnología (UTEC) has been conducting "NAO workshops" where students learn to program humanoid robots.The world today shows a growing tendency to use technology to simplify daily life. The humanoid robots play a fundamental role in carrying out tasks to support human beings with various activities and areas of knowledge. For example, psychologists use the NAO Robots to interact with children with autism and doctors can have more friendly interaction and communication with patients.What are the features of the NAO Robots?The NAO Robots are 58 centimeters in height and weigh 4.3 kg. They come with two cameras, four built-in microphones, and touch and infrared sensors. They also have WiFi connection and 1 GB of flash memory, along with other features that make them friendly.About the WorkshopHigh school students from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Markham College, Santa María Marianistas, Trener, San Pedro, Santo Domingo, Pamer Los Olivos, among others, have already had fun learning about programming through the NAO Robots. Over two sessions, the students have the opportunity to follow a guided set of activities that put them in direct contact with cutting-edge technology on a global scale. In addition, they learn the basic concepts of programming a NAO humanoid robot, their technical features, programming routines to perform movement from one place to another, along with voice, face, and object recognition, among other features.Use of NAO Robots in classUTEC has two NAO Robots for academic and research use. The humanoid robots can be used by pupils in the five undergraduate programas that UTEC offers: Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Industrial Engineering, and Energy Engineering, if they have a project to use them in. In addition, robots are used in courses such as "Programming Fundamentals" for the Electric Engineering undergrad program, among others.