9-year old writes iPhone applications
February 6, 2009 by admin
Proving that you can’t be too young to program, 9-year old Lim Deng Wen from Singapore writes software application for Apple’s iPhone.
His latest program, called Doodle Kids, lets iPhone users draw with their fingers by touching the iPhone’s touchscreen and then clear the screen by shaking the phone. It has already been dowloaded more than 4000 times in just two weeks form the iTunes store.
Lim, started using the computer at 2, is fluent in 6 different programming languages and have completed more than 20 projects.
Rossum Academy also believes in the value of teaching students from a young age to program and create digitally. MIT professor Mitchel Resnick refers to the importance of being ‘digitally fluent’, that is being able to not only work in a digital environment but being able to create new thins digitally.
19 year old designs electric motorcycle
January 8, 2009 by admin
Rossum Academy is committed to train up a new generation of engineers, designers and inventors. The following article from the New York Times is an example of the kind of innovation that we would like to encourage.
Image courtesy of Ben Gulak
Mobile Programming for Nokia Smartphones
November 28, 2008 by admin
Rossum recently launched a course in mobile programming using Python for the Symbian OS. Students learn how to write programs for the Nokia cell-phones to control robots and devices. Python provides a easy way of accessing the functions on the phone, such as SMS, GPS, Phonebook and Internet.
Robots at the operating table the way to go
May 4, 2008 by admin
A recent New York Times article indicated the growign role that robots are playing in the medical field - increasingly for sensitive surgical procedures.
From cardiac procedures to cosmetic surgery to orthopedic operations, robots are already a $1 billion segement of the medical device industry.
According to the article: “Many urologists performing prostate surgery view the precise, tremor-free movements of a robot as the best way to spare nerves crucial to bladder control and sexual potency. A robot’s ability to deftly handle small tools may lead to a less invasive procedure and faster recovery for a patient. Robots also can protect surgeons from physical stress and exposure to X-rays that may force them into premature retirement.”
As robots revolutionized the manufacturing industry in the 1980’s, experts are now predicting that robots would eventually operate as precisely as the world’s greatest surgeons, but doing so far more tirelessly and in remote locations thanks to control via satelite links.
Read the full article for more information
Robotics industry to expand
February 20, 2008 by admin
According to a recent Forbes magazine article, cleaning, lawn moving and pool cleaning robots are expected to be a $1,8bn industry by 2014.
Beside these ‘helper’ robots, a range of robots for entertainment or companionship has also become popular. These include Sony’s AIBO robotic dog, the cute and furry Furby by Tiger Electronics and iRobi, a robot that reads the news and recipes to you and even acts as a karaoke machine. One of the most advanced domestic humanoid robots, Honda’s ASIMO, has not yet become commercially available.
Outside the household, robots have also found their way into the military. There are more than 700 bomb-disarming robots deployed by the US Military in Iraq and Afghanistan. iRobot has also recently been awarded a $286million contract to deliver 3000 robots to be used for surveillance and scouting missions by the army.
But the ultimate vision for roboticists is complete self-navigating robotic helpers and robotic vehicles. These ambitions are currently actively pursued in research labs and competitions. The 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge entailed university teams having to make actual vehicles function completely driverless and then self-navigate around a 96km urban area course. The 2007 challenge was won by Carnegie Mellon University with Stanford in the second place.
Another major contest is RoboCup. This annual event seeks to promote research and education through a competition where teams design multiple robots that play variations of soccer against each other. The overall aim of RoboCup is to “by the year 2050, develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots that can win against the human world soccer champion team.”
