The seeds of a future with driverless cars were planted at the Sharjah Children’s
Reading Festival (SCRF) this week, as young children between the ages of 8 and 12
took part in a workshop to build and operate sensor-based vehicles. Conducted by
Aufuq Al Ebdaa, a local training and educational institute, the workshop was held at
Expo Centre sharjah.
According to the workshop instructor, Houida Saigh, a computer science specialist from
Syria, the hands-on course aims to teach young learners about concepts related to
robotics, recycling, electricity, and more. “When children see their creations connected
with devices using clean forms of energy such as electricity, the imagination can only
lead them to automated cars and all related forms of usage,” she said.
While the full course typically involves up to 20 hours of learning about different vehicle
concepts, the SCRF workshop was a condensed version that used Lego blocks and
pre-programmed modes to allow for customised movements and operations of the
vehicles. “These can be paired with various devices through bluetooth, wi-fi and other
options,” explained Saigh. For the session, the instructions were paired on laptops, with
graphical icons making it easy for even young children to follow.
Beyond teaching kids about robotics and the inner workings of vehicles, the workshop
also aimed to inspire creativity and promote sustainability. As Saigh noted, “The
robotics session at the SCRF helps kids enhance their capabilities and skills to build a
knowledgeable society and build a creative environment with sustainability.”