THREE tech-savvy students from Bahrain’s public schools have won awards and received high praise in competitions for their robotic projects.
Secondary school students Aisha Jihad and Malak Musa have developed a mini robot which, according to them, would help control ships passing through narrow lanes while Fatima Salman has created an ‘anti-fog machine’.
Ms Jihad and Ms Musa, students of Al Ahd Al Zaher Secondary Girls School in Hamad Town, developed the Automatic Movement Ship (AMS) as part of the 12th National Robotics Competition, which concluded last month at Al Areen Palace and Spa.
They say AMS would reduce the risk of ships running aground as special sensors would help detect when it faced the danger of running aground.
“We got the idea after we saw what happened with ships getting stuck in the Suez Canal,” Ms Jihad said.
The most recent case happened earlier this year in February when a cargo ship went aground blocking the entire canal. In March 2021, a Panama-flagged container ship crashed into the bank of the canal, blocking it for six days.
“The robot can manoeuvre the ship and protect the people and goods on board,” said Ms Musa. “It can even send distress signals in the event of a breakdown in communication as the AMS can connect to any beacons nearby.”
The students expressed their joy in their accomplishment and thanked their chemistry teacher Khadija Mirza and physics teacher Saba Yahya for their support and assistance in implementing and developing the project.
Meanwhile, the anti-fog machine created by Ms Salman, a student of Zainab Preparatory School for Girls in Barbar, won an award at the Future Scientists National Contest. Her innovation was also praised by the General Directorate of Traffic.
Ms Salman has loved science and experimentation since childhood and has been taking part in contests to further hone her talents.
In the previous edition of the Future Scientists National Contest, she contributed to a group project geared towards the Electricity and Water Authority, where she and her colleagues invented a device that rationalises water consumption.
She attributed her success to her hobby of reading, especially books on psychology, which she credits for changing her scientific outlook.
Her school organised an exhibition, ‘Creative Flashes in Zainab’s World’, to showcase some of her work including innovations, photos, videos and designs she produced in the Minecraft video game.
Fatima dreams of becoming a scientist and neurosurgeon and hopes to enter the Guinness World Records and raise the Bahraini flag in her own style.
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