Robot Dreams Come to Life for the RE/ACTION 2021 Showcase

Posted on Thursday, April 8th, 2021

Re/Action Applied Research ShowcaseImagine a carefully choreographed routine in a closed classroom where a collection of robotic arms rise and sweep ultraviolet light across desktops, eliminating bacteria and viruses before the doors open and the professor and students walk in to begin their work for the day.

This balletic sanitizing creation is the brainchild of three classmates in the Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technician program who are participating in this year’s RE/ACTION Applied Research Showcase: Ellington Ferrall, Mahdi Fawaz and Taghride Farhat. All three have been working furiously to complete their prototype for presentation virtually on April 9, 2021.

Ferrall, 25, the team lead, says the design of the robotic arms has undergone many changes since the idea was first proposed.

“Originally, it was going to be an arm that sits on one spot in the corner and reaches out to wipe a UVC light over the top of the desk,” Ferrall says. “That changed to a rail system that fits under the desk and brings out the light, moves it across the desk along the rail, and resets itself after every use.”

Various propulsion systems have been tried, changed, and changed again as the robot was refined. Multiple prototypes have been created, using a 3D printer Ferrall purchased for the project, again using a system of trial and error that required everyone’s patience and ingenuity to work and rework as the showcase deadline approaches.

The development process, he says, has been fun, educational and stressful in more or less equal measure.

The fun lies in what he’s learned he can achieve as a member of a tight-knit team. He freely acknowledges he could not have accomplished this on his own. “We come to this with our own strengths and weaknesses. Mahdi, for instance, is way better at coding than me and Tag are, so he’s doing most of that for the project. I’m awful at graphics, so the poster for RE/ACTION is up to them.”

“I’ve been given the responsibility of being the leader in this group of peers, and the process of collaboration, learning you can trust others to do what they say they will do within a certain time frame, has been really encouraging.”

Ferrall entered the Algonquin program after an earlier run at the University of Ottawa in its Electrical Engineering program. What he wanted to do – what he still wants more than anything to do – is make robots, and the experience didn’t pan out because there was no direct robotics program at the school.

After a few years, he dropped out. He took a break to consider his next steps, then chose Algonquin and the program he is now just weeks from completing.

“Algonquin gave me what I was looking for,” he says. “This has taught me what I wanted to know and opened the door to making robots, which is my goal. This program has absolutely brought me to where I want to be right now.”

Ferrall isn’t worried about the job market in his field. He and his colleagues have been taught how to use and manage industrial robotics, which are used in most factories across the country. Industry has continued to thrive for the most part during the pandemic and he fully expects the demand for good people in his line of work to be healthy when he graduates.

Whether or not he finds his dream job right away we’ll have to wait and see. But he already has an idea of what that job would be – designing robots as assistive devices for people who cannot function without them.

“For instance, I would love to design a robot for the blind that would replace seeing-eye dogs for people who cannot have dogs or prefer not to have them. Or a robot that will take ingredients and prepare dishes for people who are unable to make their own meals.”

He chuckles as he considers how the latter idea might be received: “I imagine if I could get the meal preparation robot working it would be extremely popular!”

The Algonquin College Office of Applied Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship will be holding virtual RE/ACTION Showcase on Friday, April 9, 2021, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm EST. To register to attend this virtual event visit: https://ac-reaction-apr2021.eventbrite.com


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