Viewing archives for Technology

QE had the joint-highest number of teams of any school or organisation at the huge 2022 Vex Robotics World Championships in Dallas, where the 48-strong contingent picked up a string of awards.

One of the QE senior teams made strong progress, at one point single-handedly carrying British hopes when they reached their divisional semi-finals, while the junior teams picked up a string of awards in their competition.

Eight teams made the 4,750-mile journey from Barnet to Texas after gaining their places through multiple successes both in the season’s domestic fixtures and at the UK national championships in April.

After the boys proudly joined other UK competitors in the parade of nations in front of almost 10,000 people in the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, the two senior (VRC) Year 10 teams got down to competition in the first in-person world championships to be held since 2019.

Teams Hybrid and Vortex Invicta competed in the Engineering and Arts divisions respectively ­­– just two of the seven senior divisions, each of which comprised 70-80 of the best robotics teams in the world.

After a day of set-up, practice and scouting both of alliance partners and opposition alliances, both teams began the competition with some strong tactical driving resulting in some high-scoring wins: at the end of the first day of play, Hybrid had amassed four wins and only two losses, while Vortex three wins and three losses.

Head of Technology Michael Noonan said: “What seemed to boost the chances of both our teams was that, in the face of opposition from more experienced teams using robots with more functionality, they just kept their tactics simple.”

By the end of day two, both teams had five wins and five losses, and both were ranked 40^th. Hybrid were then among the teams to be selected as alliance partners by a divisional finalist, in their case the eighth-ranked team.

“What followed was a tense victory for Hybrid over good friends and local rivals GCA Gearers (from Greig City Academy, Hornsey) in the round of 16, presenting the sole win in this stage of competition for a senior QE team to date,” said Mr Noonan.

This success, however, meant they next faced the top seeds. The team duly threw themselves into the challenge. “Using fast reactions and excellent tactics Hybrid and their partners, Robohawks, took control of the match, taking possession of the game elements and pressurising their opponents…What resulted as a nail-biting finish, where the highly fancied opposition could not ‘balance their platform’ (normally a significant bonus) – and Hybrid had successfully qualified for the divisional semi-finals on a score line of 136-85 – then a best result for UK teams in VRC competition.

“The final stages of the match were met with rapturous applause from UK supporters…and Hybrid were suddenly the great hope of UK teams and mentors,” Mr Noonan said. “With this, confidence levels in the team grew, and they swatted the semi-final challenge of a once-again higher-ranked alliance with ease, with a score of 163-76.” Their “fairy-tale journey” then came to an end as they lost out to a very high-scoring alliance.

“They were more than happy with their lot at the end of the competition – a divisional runner-up and Judges Award represented a fantastic outcome for the team.”

With ten divisions, the VIQC competition for the Year 8 and 9 teams was even bigger. The first day saw most of the six teams hit the minimum required score of 120 to be in the top 30 of their divisions, and at the end of the day “an incredible four of the six teams” had qualified for divisional finals.

First up was the Rubber Bands team: even though their alliance partner’s robot suffered technical difficulties, they still managed a respectable score of 108 points. Next came Nova, who shot to the top of their rankings with a “fantastic” 142. Shattersquad achieved 133, while Gearsquad scored 114.

“All teams put in an incredible effort, but none managed to secure that coveted prize of a place in the world finals,” said Mr Noonan. Nevertheless, Gearsquad won an Inspire Award and a top-50 place for Skills, while Nova, Cyberforce, Rubber Bands and Eclipse all secured online challenge awards.

“A trip up Dallas’s Reunion Tower with a handful of silverware and a chest-load of memories topped off a fantastic day,” said Mr Noonan.

The boys and five accompanying staff also find time during their trip to sample delicious Tex-Mex food, visit the Perot Museum of Science and Nature and take in other Dallas sights.

Year 8’s Jeevan Karthick Thiyagarajan said later: “Travelling to the USA as a group was a great experience, particularly since we missed several trips earlier due to the pandemic. It was almost like we played dual roles – hard-working robot engineers during the mornings and fun-loving tourists in the evenings!”

Advay Bhat, also of Year 8, added: “Going to the Worlds and representing QE and the UK has taught me how to stay determined, focused and resilient. I met many people from different countries and backgrounds with different ideas, and the experience has truly been one of the greatest I’ve ever been through.”

Paarth Aggarwal is among just ten global winners of the Microsoft Imagine Junior Cup after dazzling judges with his AI-powered application to reduce food waste.

The competition, which challenged participants to submit creative ideas to solve some of the planet’s biggest issues using the power of artificial intelligence (AI), attracted thousands of entries from around the world.

Year 8 pupil Paarth was the only winner from the UK, with the judges praising the detailed analysis he provided of how ‘deep learning’ was leveraged in the design of his app.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I congratulate Paarth on this impressive achievement, especially as he was one of the younger entrants in a competition open to 13–18 year-olds. Whilst many of the other participants entered as teams, Paarth took part as an individual, making this success all the more remarkable.”

Paarth entered under the ‘team’ name Earthatarian and conceptualised an AI-powered app that would reduce food waste by predicting the actual expiry of stocked food items and monitoring food consumption. As required by the competition, he used Microsoft APIs. (Application programming interfaces [APIs] enable computer programs to communicate with each other.)

“I was exultant to win, especially as it was the first time I have entered such a competition,” he said.

He explained why he chose food waste as the issue he wanted to tackle.

“I was very annoyed – and intrigued – about food waste. Lots of the food we buy we never eat. In many countries, there are lots of people who don’t have much to eat, whilst we do in the West,” said Paarth. “The aim is all about efficiency. Food waste plagues the world – it is not talked about enough.”

His app-based solution to this problem was to utilise cameras and sensors in people’s fridges and rubbish bins to see how much they are wasting. The app would use machine-learning to tell people the actual expiry date of food – judging freshness to predict when it would be at a point that it would no longer be safe to eat.

“This is to tackle consumer confusion around ‘use by’ and ‘best before dates’,” added Paarth. “The app would also look at patterns of consumption and recommend recipes based on this. It could also calculate calories using Bing API [using Microsoft’s search engine technology] and then recommend what people should buy.”

The judges said that with “so many amazing projects” they had a difficult task on their hands picking the top ten. They chose winners from countries as far apart as Nepal, Australia and the USA.

As well as receiving a trophy and a certificate, Parth won a prize worth $300.

In addition to being impressed by the Earthatarian project as a whole, they specifically praised Paarth’s thoughtful approach in using an AI-powered application to predict the ‘actual expiry’ of stocked food items and monitor food consumption, the presentation of his entry (which included a ten-slide electronic presentation and a video), and the thoroughness of his research.

Paarth says he’s “a believer in AI” and can see its potential to help tackle major problems. He plans to enter this competition again next year and then get involved with similar initiatives when older (the Apple and Google equivalents being open to those aged 16 and over).

His next project is to work on Amazon’s AWS DeepRacer – a machine-learning model aiming to get round a track as fast as possible.

A visit to the huge HS2 development sites at Euston Station proved to be the prize for a team of Year 8 boys who recently won a prestigious design competition. 

When team Captain Snehal Das, Nafis Meah, Nayan Santheepan and Quaim Abdi won first prize in the I Can Engineering competition run by the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE), they were told it would involve a behind-the-scenes tour of a civil engineering project.  

In the event, their visit was to one of the UK’s biggest current civil engineering sites. Euston Station will be the London terminus for HS2 and will double the seat capacity for trains leaving Euston during peak hours. The plans include a ‘seamless’ connection between the Northern, Victoria, Circle, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan lines at Euston. The project forms part of a regeneration scheme in central London spanning 60 acres. 

The boys were given a tour of the Mace, Dragodos and SCS Railways’ development site, where they were able to walk around and receive an insight into the scale of the project from a viewing deck. Presentations in the companies’ offices furnished useful information on both HS2 and details on what working in civil engineering can entail and possible routes into the sector. 

The boys also enjoyed the opportunity to chat to a range of engineering staff, who took time out to answer their questions about working on such a significant and vast project and their individual career paths. 

“The trip to HS2 was fascinating and gave me a very useful insight into the day-to-day life of a civil engineer,” said Snehal. “I also learned how they impact our lives everyday by improving transport networks throughout the UK.’  

Nafis added: “I found the trip extremely interesting, and I will consider being an engineer in the future.” 

The original competition required the boys to design a new London railway station linking the Isle of Dogs to the O2 Arena, with a strong renewable energy focus. Despite being among the youngest competitors, the QE beat 26 other entries from schools across the capital to take first prize.  

The boys impressed the ICE judges by including no less than four ways of reducing carbon emissions from their imagined West Ferry Station. Taking into account the new station’s location next to the River Thames, the boys included an underwater turbine to harvest hydro-electric power in their design. It also featured the use of kinetic power from customer footsteps, magnetic elevators, and bioluminescent bulbs. 

Kirsten Evans, Technology Assistant and the organiser of the I Can Engineering Club at the School, said the visit was a great way for the boys to understand the role of a civil engineer. “I hope it will inspire them to consider similar roles in the future,” she said.  

Ten VEX robotics teams from QE – a School record – have won places at next month’s World Championships in the USA.

Their qualification follows a string of mid-season successes, including triumphs on home territory at the QE-hosted North London regional rounds of the junior IQ and senior VRC teams.

Congratulating them, Headmaster Neil Enright said: “Our robotics teams march on to ever-greater success, thanks to their technical skills, teamwork and great commitment.

“I wish them all the best for the national championships in Telford and then for Dallas in May.”

The qualifiers include six Vex IQ Challenge (VIQC) teams from Years 8 & 9 – Gearsquad, Nova, Eclipse, The Rubber Bands, CyberForce and Shattersquad – and four VRC teams from Years 10 & 12 – HYBRID, Vortex Invicta, Hex-Green and Hyperion.

In addition to its main current competitions (Pitching In for IQ teams and Tipping Point for VRC), VEX also organises a series of subsidiary challenges and competitive online events.

Among all recent VIQC highlights are:

• Five QE teams holding a top-20 place in national skills rankings. Five were also finalists in the World Online challenge (the School’s previous best was one), gaining them automatic entry to the World Championships;
• Gearsquad’s gaining of Excellence and Skills awards at the QE-hosted event, which secured them early qualification for the ‘Worlds’. At this point, Gearsquad also boasted the highest skills score in the UK;
• Nova’s victory in the QE-hosted tournament. Nova were also finalists in the Career Readiness Online challenge, finalists in the Poster Design online challenge and among the winners in the VIQC STEM Research Project competition with their entry, Camelid Antibodies.
• Eclipse taking first prize in the Theme it up online challenge, which involved creating and presenting a theme that ties the current IQ game’s objects, scoring, and rules into an engaging and creative story. Eclipse also won the double Teamwork Champion & Design awards at the Essex regional event;
• The Rubber Bands gaining a ‘triple’ – the Excellence, Teamwork Champion and Skills Champion awards at the Essex event – as well as being among the winners in the STEM Research Project with their entry, The Foginator, and a runner-up in the Career Readiness online challenge.
• Cyberforce’s winning of the Poster Design Online challenge.

Head of Technology Michael Noonan also paid tribute “Shattersquad for their sheer determination in increasing their skills score at the Worlds Qualifier event, securing one of the last seats on the plane to Texas”.

Among Spring Term VRC successes are:

• HYBRID winning the Innovate award at the World Championship qualifier event in early March, and placing second in Skills at the Essex VRC regional event;
• Year 10’s Panth Patel and Tharsan Nimalan on being selected as the newest members of their respective teams through their online challenge efforts; Panth joined team Vortex Invicta; Tharsan the experienced Hex-Green;
• Hex-Green’s number 1 ranking in the UK for Skills, with a combined score for driver and programming skills of 430 ahead by a distance of the second-top team, on 386;
• Hex-Green’s multiple competition successes: Excellence Award winner and overall runners-up at the Stowe Regional; Tournament Champion and Skills Champion at the QE-hosted North London Regional; Excellence Award and Skills Champion at the GCA Regional;
• Hyperion’s securing the Excellence Award at the QE North London Regional and winning the Tournament Champions and Design awards at the Stowe VRC Regional.

While examination commitments prevent Year 12 from travelling, IQ teams from Years 8 and 9 VRC competitors from Year 10 will all be heading for the States.

Mr Noonan looked back on an unprecedently successful term for QE robotics: “The excitement levels were incredible in advance of the day in February day when the online challenge winners were released. We knew this could pave the way for our highest-ever number of teams qualifying for the World Championships, and so it proved!

“I commend all of our teams for their valiant efforts to date, and remind them that our biggest and most exciting challenge lies in wait. Over a two-week period in late April and early May, these teams will travel to Telford and Texas in search of glory!”

A QE team’s design for a new London railway station with a strong renewable energy focus has won them first prize in a competition run by the Institution of Civil Engineers.

The four Year 8 boys included no fewer than four different ways of reducing carbon emissions in their design for the new station connecting the Isle of Dogs to the O2 Arena in Greenwich.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “I congratulate these boys on a well-deserved success: they combined creativity with sound engineering instincts in their entry and came up with a design that clearly impressed the judges.”

Despite being among the younger competitors, team captain Snehal Das, along with Nafis Meah, Nayan Santheepan and Quaim Abdi, beat 26 other entries from schools across the capital to take the top prize in the I Can Engineer Awards, which were open to Years 8–10. Two other shortlisted QE teams also achieved success, with one picking up a further award and a third receiving a special commendation.

Taking advantage of the new station’s location next to the River Thames, the winning QE team included in their design an underwater turbine to harvest hydro-electric power. It also featured the use of kinetic power from customer footsteps, magnetic elevators, and bioluminescent bulbs. They called their design West Ferry Station.

Jonathan Baggs, Director of ICE London, said that West Ferry was “very creative in its approach to energy generation and how it is used to operate the station”.

The winners’ prize is a behind-the-scenes tour of a civil engineering project, courtesy of civil engineering sector companies, SCS Railways and TYPSA, who supported the award category. Other companies supporting the awards, which were organised by the ICE London Graduates and Students Committee, were Mott MacDonald and Ramboll.

After the event, Snehal said: “Being the team captain gave me many new skills which could help me in my future life.”

Ten teams were shortlisted for the awards, including the three from QE. One Year 9 team, Colin Copcea, Ishaan Ganatra, Krishna Patel, and Rian Dharel, received the Community Award for their design, entitled Cubitt Waterside. It drew inspiration from the recently completed tube station, Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station. The special commendation went to a third team, drawn from Years 8 & 9 –Marvin To, Wilson Xu, and Zoheb Haq – who narrowly missed out on an award with their entry, Dockland Quay station.

Kirsten Evans, a Technology technician and the organiser of the I Can Engineering Club at the School, congratulated all the boys who participated. “The club has allowed all 20 students involved to develop a better understanding of civil engineering’s role in society.”

Miss Evans also thanked alumni who had supported the club by passing on their knowledge of civil engineering, including Karan Dewnani (OE 2006–2013).

The prizes were awarded in a ceremony at the ICE headquarters in Westminster – the first event for school pupils to be held there since the start of the pandemic.

In addition to the award presentations, there were team activities such as tower and bridge-building using spaghetti and marshmallows. The teams listened to a talk about HS2 from Fiona Hughes, a geotechnical engineer with Arup, and to an engineering ‘pitch’ from Julio Lacorzana, a Senior Engineer and Deputy Package Manager with TYPSA, who first spoke about his career journey.

Pupils and teachers from QE’s Technology department have been visiting local primaries to help them dip their toes into 3D-printing and robotics.

First, QE donated 3D printers to Northside Primary in North Finchley and Foulds School in Barnet, sending along a group of sixth-formers to help set the machines up and explain how they can be used.

Then, the award-winning Hybrid robotics team took along two of its robots to Monken Hadley CE Primary School and gave the children there an introduction to exactly what is involved in competitive robotics.

Headmaster Neil Enright said: “At Queen Elizabeth’s School, we cherish our place in the local community and are keen to work together with other schools and organisations in the area. Partnerships such as these benefit all who are involved, with our students gaining from the experience of presenting what they have learned in these informal, interactive workshops, while the primary schools are introduced to some very exciting, cutting-edge technologies.”

The 3D Printers donated to Northside and Foulds schools were among a large batch of machines given to QE technology company Cisco Meraki. During the early stages of the pandemic, they were used as part of a ‘print farm’ producing urgently needed PPE for the NHS under a London-wide initiative headed by QE Head of Technology Michael Noonan that involved the online 3D Crowd network.

“With supply chains subsequently catching up with demand for PPE, we were looking to retire the machines to schools that needed them,” Mr Noonan said. “We gave a commitment as the Technology department to support the two schools in setting them up and in helping to train staff so they could bring 3D printing into their curriculum.

“Students on our new Year 12 course – part of the two-year A-level in Product Design – have been gaining far greater knowledge of 3D-printing recently through setting up the two dedicated Sixth Form printers. So, once they were sufficiently confident, we were very happy for them to travel to these local schools to spearhead technical education sessions benefitting both staff and children there.”

The visiting sixth-formers first finessed the set-up of the printers and calibrated them, before moving on to instructing staff on best practice, introducing Computer-Aided Design (CAD) to the children, and helping the schools establish a CAD/3D-printing curriculum.

“The exercise was highly beneficial for these students, deepening their competence in using the technology, while also developing their personal confidence as they gave their presentation and fielded questions both from education professionals and from some very keen members of Years 5 and 6!

“The Technology department will look to continue to grow this partnership in the coming years, so that we develop the best opportunities for our A-level Product Design students, while at the same time helping local schools access and benefit from the type of technologies which have greatly enhanced the learning experience at Queen Elizabeth’s.”

Mr Noonan accompanied senior boys from Team Hybrid – one of four senior QE robotics teams to have taken part in last year’s international VEX robotics finals – to Monkton Hadley.

The Year 10 boys spoke to a mixed group of Year 5 and 6 children about their journey in robotics to date, detailing their achievements and what they have learned. They brought along the robot they are using in senior competitions this year, as well as the robot they used in the VIQC junior events.

“It was an opportunity to demonstrate the impressive capabilities of bespoke designed, programmable robotics. The primary school students were amazed by the technology on show, and particularly taken aback by the sheer scale of the effort put in by the team members as they strive for excellence,” said Mr Noonan.

The visiting QE team proudly displayed their award trophies and gave the younger pupils a glimpse of their design notebooks. They tantalised them with the prospect of one day competing themselves in the international VEX championships, which in non-pandemic years are normally held in the US. There was also an opportunity for the primary school children to test-drive the robots – an experience which left them “ecstatic”, Mr Noonan said.

“At the end of the session, the voting was unanimous: all present wanted to take up VEX in the following academic year (staff included!). QE will now look to host the school and others like it; we’ll start with a visit of our facilities and then eventually perhaps they could take part in the annual VEX competitions we now host, just as Lochinver House School did last term.”

After the visit, Julie Eyres, Head at Monken Hadley, wrote to QE’s Head of Technology, Michael Noonan to say how much the children had enjoyed the visit, adding that they were now keen for their school to acquire robotics equipment of its own!

The children from Monken Hadley gave their own account in their school newsletter: “These robots were amazing…[The QE boys] play in many different competitions; the robot they are using…is so cool. It has a small conveyor belt, where rings go up, and it also collects big circles with poles on them.”

Working with Mr Noonan on these partnership initiatives are Technology teachers Lauren Fagan and Stephanie Tomlinson, and Technology Assistant Kirsten Evans.

“It was great to see that our students emphasised the accessibility of robotics to both young men and women, thus highlighting the opportunities that exist for women in STEM careers,” Miss Tomlinson said.

• Team Hybrid have applied for Vex Robotics Competition (VRC) Online Challenge Community Award and have created a video entry. They hope to be able to visit other primary schools in due course.