Ollie Sharpe, 13, and Jasper Eckford, 14, both year 9 students at Wakatipu High School, won the Engineering Excellence Award at the First Lego League Open International Championship in Korinthos.
Called the Queenstown Robostormers and coached by local engineer Paula Hugens and coding coach Suki Lee — who’s Ollie’s mum — the duo were among 54 teams competing at the four-day comp, which finished on Monday.
Hugens says the comp’s ‘Unearthed’ theme prompted many teams to focus on ancient ruins and archaeological sites across Europe, but the Robostormers looked closer to home for inspiration.
Working with local archaeologists from Origin Heritage in Arrowtown and Queenstown building surveyor Wal Dix, Ollie and Jasper looked at how inspection robots and drone technology can be used to investigate difficult-to-access spaces.
They then designed and built a low-cost prototype inspection robot intended as an affordable alternative to pricey commercial models.
It included a 360-degree camera system allowing areas to be scanned with far fewer passes than existing entry-level robots.
Footage could then be reviewed through a virtual reality headset, providing significantly improved visibility of walls, ceilings and floors.
Hugens says the judges were particularly impressed the team produced a fully-working prototype as proof of concept.
"The team worked incredibly hard to create practical engineering solutions rather than just focusing on competition scores.
"Seeing international judges and other teams so interested in their ideas was hugely rewarding."
Formed in 2016, the Robostormers team is based at Queenstown engineering consultancy eZED Ltd, and operates under the umbrella of the Queenstown Robotics Trust.
It’s achieved success nationally and internationally in the past decade, including representing New Zealand at the Asia Pacific Championships in Sydney and the FIRST Global Challenge in Dubai.
The team’s now preparing to move into the more advanced FIRST Tech Challenge competition category, and is looking for one or two more high schoolers to join.
Applications are open for students in year 9 and above. Candidates are asked to submit a cover letter and CV outlining their interest in competitive robotics, engineering and teamwork. Inquiries can be made to: robostormers@gmail.com
