There was a robotic invasion at Cefnllys Primary School in Llandrindod Wells when two robots and a number of robotic toys were activated by a party from Bridgend College in South Wales.

This was the first time that such an event has been staged in Powys.

The group was led by Claire George and Scott Morgan and the event was part of a Welsh Government Initiative called ‘Have a Go’. Nearly all the pupils in the school had an opportunity during the day to handle and get involved in a hands on activity.

The pupils met Si Nao and a four foot tall robot called Pepper, who danced and did many activities, responding to the commands given. In practical work it was all about using the robots for physical computing and coding which interested many of the older pupils at the school.

There were games and activities for all, which involved pupils and staff as they activated and moved the robots around and gave spoken commands for the robots to do. In all everybody agreed that it was a great day and the deputy head teacher, Lorraine Cadwallader said the experience had been fantastic for pupils and staff alike.

The group from Bridgend College offer exciting workshops and demonstrations of some of the world’s most advanced humanoid robots. Si Nao is a robot built in France, which features face and voice recognition and a wide range of abilities which make children and adults of all ages stop and look. It runs hands-on coding sessions where pupils can directly control the robots, or demonstrations for larger groups to showcase what they can do.

The group also run workshops on new and emerging technologies such as the Raspberry Pi computer or the BBC Micro:bit, and physical computing sessions allowing pupils to combine real-world objects with an on-screen interface. The emphasis of these sessions is on learning through play and facilitate the pupils to experiment with the technology while providing assistance and resources to get them thinking about the code.

NAO is the first robot created by SoftBank Robotics which is driving the future of robots, connecting people with technology and changing the way we work. Famous around the world, NAO is a tremendous programming tool and he has especially become a standard in education and research.