THEY may not have won, but the robotics club at Erica Primary School in Belhar learned lots at last weekend's the Open Africa Championships at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
The Cape Flats school was one of 80 centres to learning who competed in the Open Africa Championships at the Cape Town International Convention Centre over the weekend.
Learners were challenged to create a robot that could help give solutions to issues relating to the health of our oceans.
The team of 10, named the Cape Town Ocean Outlaws, competed in the First Lego League (FLL) Challenge category, came up with a kwaai plan to build a submersible machine that measures acid levels.
Teacher Vernon Petersen, head of the Robotics and Coding says: “The learners were confident and performed well with regards to the innovation of the project and core value aspect of the competition.
"We had to come up with an idea related to the theme of the FLL which was Submerged. In our case we chose to address the problem of lack of research with regards to ocean acidification which is a direct result of the enormous costs involved during the testing process.
"Our innovation project was a prototype that collects data which can be seen and recorded in real time.
"For this purpose, we created web servers where data could be read and stored. Our prototype had sensors installed which measured the ocean’s pH levels as well as temperature. The prototype is meant to be lodged into the ocean.
"We did not attain any podium finishes but overall, it was a huge experience and learning curve for us. Being a first timer in a competition of this nature has certainly taught us a lot in terms of what is expected at this level."
The club was established in 2022 and entered four teams in the World Robot Olympiad that year which all qualified to compete on a national level.
He said that they are now focusing on this year's edition which is taking place later this year where eight teams will be entered into various categories.