3 high school girls invent robot that can detect flood

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga– A high school team from Central Luzon bagged fourth place in the annual World Robot Olympiad held recently in Abu Dhabi for inventing a robot that could detect flood, the Department of Education said.

The team, composed of Alexandra Mae Guevarra, 15; Claire Reñosa, 14; Chelsea Morales, 14; and coaches Beryl Cruz and RomyrGimeno, placed behind the winning squads from Malaysia, South Africa, and South Korea.

The all-girl trio from Dr. Yanga’s Colleges Inc. (DYCI) in Bocaue, Bulacan created MAGIS (Man’s All-Around Global Interactive Solutions), a robot that has the capability to detect the approach of flood particularly in low-lying areas.

The group also took home the Best Technical Design award in the international competition.

Coach Cruz said MAGIS has apparatuses to detect a person’s body temperature and blood pressure, and also an electronic Braille to help the disabled or elders in reading.

“The five-foot robot also has a personal savings machine which serves like an automated teller machine where money could be saved and withdrawn, and an auxiliary robot named Amicus that can play Tic-tac-toe and display emotions,” Cruz said.

It has a robotic pet puppy which Cruz said could detect the approach of flood especially in a perennially inundated province like Bulacan.

“MAGIS was designed to help man in everyday life,” said Cruz.

“We started the conceptualization last February and started building the robot April. Since then, we met everyday for our regular training. We finished it after eight months,” he added.

When asked of the team’s advantage over other competing countries, Cruz said it is the passion of the girls who devoted their “whole time and heart” to the project.