Robotics in brazil
MIT-University of São Paulo Robotics Summer School
(MURSS) – January, 2020
Imagine teaching PID control to high schoolers – in an unself-conscious combination of Portuguese, Spanish, and English – and watching them discover the beauty of that algorithm for themselves. I’m sure I learned as much from these kids as they did from our workshop.
The setting was the University of São Paulo in São Carlos, where groups of high schoolers from both nearby and as far as Fortaleza (2000 miles away) gathered for two weeks of workshops on line-following robotics.
As a team of MIT engineers, we did our best to convey a love of hands-on building, failure, and iteration. The students loved the timed competition at the end of the week.
The laser cutter stopped working the week before we arrived, so we used that as a teaching opportunity – you don’t need fancy tech to create!
Before leaving Boston, I water-jet tokens for the attendees – judging by their response, there’s nothing like a bit of metal to make the experience feel real.
Mundo Maker, Vila Madalena, São Paulo
Mundo Maker offers weeklong robotics & hands-on build projects to kids ages 4-14. It’s an incredibly valuable opportunity for students – one I wish I had at age 10!
We were lucky to get to work with them for a fun week of line-following robot workshops, exploring mechanical assembly, soldering, differences in light reflectivity for visible light and the sensor’s infrared emitter.
One student asked if the light sensor would work with the lights off, so we grabbed a mat for an impromptu investigation.
Rio de Janeiro!
Moody skies over Ipanema
Cristo Redentor
Museu do Amanhã: Museum of Tomorrow, Rio de Janeiro
