KYMBERLEE FERNANDES

Last updated22:06, June 26 2017

Kymberlee Fernandes/ Stuff.co.nz

Four south Auckland students will represent New Zealand in the United States in a robotics competition. Using science to help humanity, they will present a robot that can help clean contaminated water.

Four students from South Auckland are aiming to solve the world's problems using robotics.

Kacey Roberts, Daniel Gallahar-Ikitule, Esther Asi and Vanshika Ram will represent New Zealand at an Olympics-style robotics competition in the United States in July.

The theme for the First Global competition this year is providing access to clean water.Team NZ will go up against teams from Syria, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Chile and Pakistan among 160 other countries.

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Vanshika Ram says although engineering is thought as a career for boys, 'if girls have an interest in it, they should really go for it'.

They're calling their robot the NZ Karebots, which translates to "friendly bots".

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It is being built to separate contaminants out of the water in a game using plastic balls, Daniel from Manurewa High School explains.

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Students work on the NZ Karebot robot to help solve world problems.

Robotics allows him to be "hands on and build things". He will most likely study mechanics or engineering, he says.

Year 8 student atTe Matauranga School,Vanshika has been interested in robotics for a couple of years.

She wanted to try something new and robotics, she says, became "one of my hobbies".

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Daniel Gallahar-Ikitule and Esther Asi.

"Screwdrivers, chains, extrusions, wires and gears," keep her interest locked in she says.

Esther who studies at Auckland Girls Grammar is keen to help humanity and says if it wasn't for robotics, she most probably would have studied law.

"I chose robotics because it can help solve problems."

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Vanshika Ram, left, and Kacey Roberts.

Kacey from James Cook High is excited to be part of the team and is "looking forward to meeting new people".

"It has also been good working alongside the other three and getting to know them."

Theyare being guided by Te Matauranga teacher Debbie Woolliams and are supported by teacher Marama Timoko.

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Vanshika Ram, Kacey Roberts, Daniel Gallahar-Ikitule and Esther Asi with their NZ Karebot robot.

Providing technical advice is Stephen Moran, director at IT firm Entity Hub.

Woolliams says the whole project is an "amazing opportunity".

She was contacted by First Global to put a team together of students that might not be exposed to such a platform.

"They're all my past pupils. Here at Te Matauranga were already run STEM [science, technology, engineering, and maths]. We believe the future is about solving problems," she says.

The trip for the students and Woolliamsis funded by First Global. Henderson Demolition has funded the robot and the uniforms.

-Stuff

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South Auckland students to represent NZ at US robotics competition - Stuff.co.nz