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Seeing the possibilities of robotics

By Izza Effendi, age 16 | March 27, 2023

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ALUMINUM-ATING Students on Duchesne’s robotics team and teacher Mr. Zach Cavanaugh pose with a robot at the ABB Robotics facility. From left to right: Arpana Shrestha, Kennedy Wolf, Hannah Barton, Gigi Madrid, Emma Hourican, Sophia Hadad, Izzy Ganchan, Gabriella Romano, and Izza Effendi. Izza is a sophomore at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart and a reporter for our blog School Buzz.

This year, Duchesne’s robotics team, Iron Plaid, took a field trip to ABB Robotics, a global robotics manufacturer with a facility in Houston. Excitement was in the air as students chatted away on the bus ride.

Our group was greeted inside the facility by multiple human-sized robots. Sophomore Gigi Madrid commented that she learned so much and “loved looking at the robots!” These robots had arms that were meant to mimic ours. Students learned that there were six different joints in each arm, and all of them are required to allow the robot to work smoothly and with the complexity mirroring a real human arm. Multiple professionals guided us around, and don’t worry, they didn’t drone on and on when explaining. They shared their experiences working at ABB and demonstrated how robotics can heavily assist in medicine, which is one of the focuses of ABB Robotics.

It was interesting to see how various machines reflect how these two different fields complement each other. Some robots were cut off at the torso and displayed on tables, but others were the size of a human person, and could move by rolling on wheels. Although they could be controlled by a video game controller, they could also function autonomously. When left to its own devices, the robot could sense objects in front of it and move around them. The robot also mapped out the entire room, including obstacles such as tables, so it could travel around the room freely.

These robots aren’t just made for serious business either. Each one is programmed to dance, and because we were visiting, the robots got to bust a move!

Duchesne’s computer science and engineering teacher, Mr. Zach Cavanaugh, planned and organized the field trip for students. He said he was very satisfied with how the trip went. “I think the students gained an appreciation for what is possible with robotics,” he commented. This field trip was an excellent opportunity for students to learn and experience what it is like to be an engineer.

Overall, our field trip was aluminum-ating. It’ll be difficult to top this field trip next year!

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on our School Buzz blog online. See more School Buzz here.

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