insideKENT Magazine Issue 70 - January 2018 | Page 118

EDUCATION
THE LOW COST ROBOTIC HAND:
AN INNOVATIVE IDEA FROM KENT COLLEGE STUDENTS
TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF MANY
A GROUP OF STUDENTS FROM KENT COLLEGE HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO COMPETE AT
THE UK FINALS OF A SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING COMPETITION AFTER THEIR EXCITING
PROJECT CAUGHT THE EYE OF THE JUDGES. THE SIX-STRONG TEAM OF 17-TO 19-YEAR-
OLD PUPILS FROM THE SCHOOL WILL NOW TAKE THEIR PLACE IN THE FINAL OF THE BIG
BANG UK YOUNG SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS COMPETITION.
The Engineering Education Scheme provided
by the Engineering Development Trust is a
six-month project for six year-12 pupils. The
team are given a real life engineering problem
to solve by their company mentors. The Kent
College team were given the task of designing
a low cost robotic arm by BAE systems. They
presented their final project to a panel of
industry experts at the University of Kent in
May. The team won The Contribution to
Business Award for their project and went on
to win the regional finals and the national
finals in London.
aim, the team contacted the charity,
Opening Your Heart to Bhutan
(www.openingyourhearttobhutan.com), who
endorsed the project as they recognised: “that
the key advantages of the design are its
simplicity, lightness and cost, all of which are
critically important elements for those young
people our charity aims to help. We are looking
forward to supporting the team in the Young
Engineers of the Year Award final in March
this year at the NEC in Birmingham.”
In November 2017, they attended the Houses
of Parliament to showcase their project at The
Big Bang @ Parliament, in celebration
of Tomorrow’s Engineers Week. They were
invited by Stephen Metcalfe MP on behalf of
The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee
with EngineeringUK. They discussed their
project with many guests from Industry,
Education and MPs, including their local MP,
Rosie Duffield.
The team hope the robotic arm could be
evolved to help those around the world who
would be unable to access the expensive
models currently available. To progress this
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