ABU Robotics Team Represents Nigeria at the 2018 PARC Competition in Senegal

A team of young students from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) has been selected to represent Nigeria at the ongoing Pan-African Robotics Competition (PARC). Holding at Somone & Saly, in Senegal, the competition is aimed at promoting STEM education and its application in Africa.

The ABU team is made up of three students; Fatima Auwal Aliyu, Peter Balarabe W. and Yusuf Salisu Bako. And for PARC, the ABU team developed “Domotics for the Disabled”, an innovative technology that uses Internet of Things (IoT) to help persons with disabilities control electrical devices in their homes.

#PARC2018 in Senegal, July 24, 2018 pic.twitter.com/zoit08djJS

— PARC Robotics (@ParcRobotics) July 24, 2018

Using their mobile phones, the technology allows physically challenged persons to control their home appliances and reduces the burden of manually doing these things themselves.

The solution is a low-cost one. Users do not even need to spend to re-wire their houses to make it work. Neither do they need to purchase any high-tech equipment.

The ABU team was chosen to represent Nigeria after a selection process was concluded for Northern Nigeria in February 2018 organized by StartUpArewa. And following their win, the team has been mentored by Brainiacs STEM & Robotics. Brainiacs has been prepping the team for the international event in Senegal.

First day of workshop! Energy is high and students are staying late to work on their projects. #PARC2018

— PARC Robotics (@ParcRobotics) July 24, 2018

The PARC competition is presently holding in Senegal, it began on July 24 and ends July 28, 2018.

This year, African students showcase solutions that provide access to quality health services using technology. Their innovations are in one of several domains. These include Surgical Robotics, Wearable Biosensors, Hand-held Point of Care Diagnostics, Virtual and Augmented Reality in Healthcare education, Organs on a chip, Internet of Things for Healthcare, Drug/Vaccine development, manufacturing, etc.

The 2018 event is supported by the World Bank Group and the Carnegie Mellon University-Africa.