Sharjah 24: The seeds of a future with driverless cars were planted at the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival (SCRF) this week, as young children between the ages of 8 and 12 took part in a workshop to build and operate sensor-based vehicles. Conducted by Aufuq Al Ebdaa, a local training and educational institute, the workshop was held at Expo Centre sharjah.
According to the workshop instructor, Houida Saigh, a computer science specialist from Syria, the hands-on course aims to teach young learners about concepts related to robotics, recycling, electricity, and more. "When children see their creations connected with devices using clean forms of energy such as electricity, the imagination can only lead them to automated cars and all related forms of usage," she said.
While the full course typically involves up to 20 hours of learning about different vehicle concepts, the SCRF workshop was a condensed version that used Lego blocks and pre-programmed modes to allow for customised movements and operations of the vehicles. "These can be paired with various devices through bluetooth, wi-fi and other options," explained Saigh. For the session, the instructions were paired on laptops, with graphical icons making it easy for even young children to follow.
Beyond teaching kids about robotics and the inner workings of vehicles, the workshop also aimed to inspire creativity and promote sustainability. As Saigh noted, "The robotics session at the SCRF helps kids enhance their capabilities and skills to build a knowledgeable society and build a creative environment with sustainability."
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