Computer Science students at King James I Academy were recently introduced to Bernard the robotic dog, resident computerised canine at Sunderland University.
Costing £100,000, Bernard, which is one of the most advanced quadrupedal robots in development, was brought to the Academy by Mark Bennison, Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer for Sunderland’s BSc (Hons) Computer Science course.
Bernard joined the Faculty of Technology and Engineering at the university in 2021 to showcase what robotic technology can do and he is one of only a handful of his kind in the UK.
The robot visited a Year 12 Computer Science lesson to educate students about how robotics can be used in an applied way to solve tasks.
A number of the students are interested in studying engineering at university and pursuing a career in robotics, so this was a valuable opportunity to hear from the course leader.
At the end of the school day, Bernard was made available for younger students to meet and Mark was happy to answer their questions and demonstrate Bernard’s capabilities, including his ability to easily ascend and descend stairs and his programmable dance moves.
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