September 2020 was a special month. Along with our partners Discovery STEM and Innovation World, we launched the global GIFT Challenge and invited budding coding enthusiasts from all over the world to program the MiRo-E robot to perform a function in the real world that would help people. We received entries from grade kindergarten up to year 10, who were from countries including Indonesia, the United States, China, Sweden, Canada, Syria and many more! After some stiff competition, we picked our winner who received their own MiRo-E. In her first blog post with us, our winner shares her coding motivations and goals. Meet Aarna and find out what she has learnt through coding.
Hello, my name is Aarna Narad Dwivedi.
I live in Sheffield with my parents, Ashish Narian Dwivedi and Nimisha Narad. My father is an academic at the University of Hull and is a member of the Centre for System Studies. My father is slightly interested in technology and does his research on technology. My mother is the Head of HR for the UK and Denmark in a global automotive company.
I am 10 years old, but I was 9 when I participated in the competition. I am also Indian living in the UK, and I enjoy Science, English, Art, Robotics, Music, and Mathematics. I hope you enjoy reading my post about my experience with MiRo.
Why I like coding
I like coding because you can turn something that is empty into something full. You can design your own world using code.
How I would describe MiRo
MiRo is a new personalised robot that has endless coding possibilities, it can be used in medical settings, retirement homes or as a loving companion. It is programmed to be immersive and interact with everyone in a fun way while also being sensible and practical. MiRo offers a different way of viewing the world around us. She is more than just a robot; she has a unique personality which is what I love about her.
What I enjoy about using MiRo
I enjoy having a new immersive experience with a cute, new, and unique robot that future generations will use. Usually, my robotics learning is about getting ready for a competition but MiRo wasn’t just about a competition or normal coding. For me, it was creative coding, helping me to think differently. MiRo is not just a machine, it is a lot more.
What I have learned from coding MiRo
MiRoCLOUD and Python were the programming platforms that I used to code MiRo and I believe that my experience of coding MiRo has definitely expanded my knowledge of coding. There was a lot of room for trial and error including a wide range of coding possibilities. It helped me to see coding in a different way - a way of creating new functions for a really helpful machine. Coding MiRo has deepened my knowledge and opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me. I realised that I was coding a robot that has endless possibilities to do many different things.
When I grow up
I hope to continue coding, learn more languages, and work with newer inventions. I am deeply interested in science, especially Astro-physics and my goal is to work at ISRO to put my knowledge of science and coding to use for my country of birth, India.
I want to say thank you to
Dr Melissa Butt and Emily Whaites at Discovery STEM in Sheffield and Dr Mendelssohn for his guidance during the competition and Mr Sebastian Conran at Consequential Robotics.