WA Robotics can be a place where like-minded students can hone their robotics and teamwork skills while competing for a championship, but it can also be so much more. Through one of their several outreach programs, WA Robotics modified a toy ride-on car to support a child with a mobility disability last year, and their work isn’t done.
GoBabyGo is a Ghost Robotics outreach program that provides customized miniature cars to children with special needs. The initiative began when club advisor Jeffrey Warren decided it would be a good alternate activity for club members. The group built their first car last summer for a five year old girl with CTNNB1 disorder. This year they set out to modify two more cars, and plan to continue at this pace.
“The goal is to give them the same freedom of movement that other kids their age would have,” sophomore club member Omkar Naluvala said. “We install controls that they’ll actually be able to use, because a lot of the time with these mobility disabilities it can be really hard for them to control [the car].”
Alongside GoBabyGo, the club runs several summer camps that introduce robotics to younger kids and workshop valuable skills. They have also established a trustees scholarship dedicated to Stephen Wojcik, a former club advisor.
Although the main goal of Ghost Robotics is to compete in and win the FIRST Tech Challenge every year, they spend a considerable amount of their time devoted to their community outreach projects. According to Naluvala, while he enjoys the FIRST competition, his favorite thing about the club is getting to participate in their outreach programs.
“[GoBabyGo] can be really rewarding. […] It’s been a really positive experience for me and everyone that’s worked on it,” Naluvala said.
The club works with Emilie Hurley, a doctor at Emerson Hospital, to identify children with mobility needs. Hurley puts Ghost Robotics in touch with the children’s physical therapists, who then provide specific details about the child’s required modifications. Once the students have the necessary information, they get to work.
“The hardest part was getting paired up with a doctor that was familiar with the program and had access to the children that were a proper fit for the cars that we build. I contacted dozens of doctors in our area and only [Hurley] replied,” Warren said.
According to Warren, some common modifications can include replacing the pedal of the car with a button, adding steering ropes for the parent or caretaker, adding improved padding and a harness, and creating an emergency stop mechanism. Each car takes around three months to complete from start to finish.
For the club’s most recent car, they had to 3D print a custom battery mount so that they could move the battery and make more room for the seat.
“It’s always great to have this completely separate [challenge] that requires a whole new set of skills,” Naluvala said.
Through GoBabyGo and other community outreach projects, Ghost Robotics is able to apply their robotics skills to the real world, while also being provided with a unique, fulfilling, and creative challenge.
“It’s a great team. Everybody there is so driven, so passionate about the club and making sure that we perform well,” Naluvala said “The outreach programs are always amazing to participate in […] it’s a really great experience.”
