Technology Department News

Digital Solutions Excursion - written by Alem Fitzgerald (11H)

Recently the Year 11 Digital Solutions class experienced an Excursion to the University of Queensland (UQ) and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).

The first stop at UQ saw the class introduced to “raspberry pi” and the coding and wiring behind them. Raspberry Pi is a series of small single-board computers that is programmable with software allowing the teaching of computer science in schools. After the introduction and tutorials, we participated in various coding challenges to test our knowledge and give us an idea of the types of courses at the university. The student instructors also gave us an insight into the courses they had completed or were currently learning. This helped in giving our class an idea about future pathways they may choose and how to get there.

After a short bus trip, we arrived at the QUT and were given a tour around the Centre of Robotics. Inside their robotic manipulator lab, they explained the uses of their robots, ranging from surgery to automating opening packages in space stations. We were also lucky enough to watch live demonstrations of the robots and how they would be utilised in real-life scenarios. Furthermore, the robots constructed for self-driving cars and machines that map the mines helped us understand the uses of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Neural Networks. Another use of this AI can be seen in horticulture applications where produce such as strawberries and tomatoes are grown and monitored by robots and drones. There are many agricultural benefits of robotics which increase quality and productivity maintaining plants and killing weeds automatically.

Overall, it was a day full of learning, enjoyment, and awe. The students will use the information we learnt during this day to excel in our assessments and perhaps our future pathways.

Thanks must go to Ms Natoli and Mr Forster for taking us.