Serving up success:
students create AI robot ball boy
As Wimbledon fever gripped the nation this year, a group of school children in Kent unveiled an invention that would be a huge game-changer for the sport.
Year 12 students at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School have built a robot which scans for and collects tennis balls. The robot could replace the need for ball boys and girls in the sport. The young researchers confidently demonstrated their creation on ITV news.
ITV interview with the students
Jacob, Owen, Daniyal and Sean, are all part of the school’s student-led robotics and engineering society, and they created the robot as part of their Original Research project. Take a look at their research poster here – RoboQuEST AI/ML Tennis Ball Retrieval Robot.
The robot uses a Raspberry Pi model which processes the images from a camera on board the robot. This provides an accurate way to search for and collect tennis balls.
It’s always both fascinating and inspiring to see what the next generation of innovators are coming up with
Dr. Jo Foster, director of IRIS, said: “This exciting project using AI and Robotics could be the future for Wimbledon ball boys and girls. It would certainly have the commentators saying ‘Oh I say’!
“It’s always both fascinating and inspiring to see what the next generation of innovators are coming up with and many more exciting innovations have been unveiled at this year’s IRIS conferences in London, Manchester and Exeter. All the ideas and research will hopefully lead to future careers in science for many of the teams involved.”
What could your students could discover? Find out by signing up to take part in an IRIS Original Research project.
Students and staff from Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School at this year’s IRIS conference in London
