Photo: Students at Pocklington School using the new robotic arm, with Steve Ellis, Head of Design. 

A whole new world of robotics has opened up to pupils at Pocklington School with the arrival of a mechanical arm to its new Art and Design Technology Centre.

The Arduino Robotic Arm can pick up and move items, and be programmed to move a camera or track movements. It is being used to enhance design technology projects at the school, with students programming its actions and exploring its potential range of uses.

Steve Ellis, Pocklington School’s Head of Design said: “The arm is allowing me to move from teaching about robotics on video to actually allowing students to see and interact with the real thing.  The new dimension it brings to lessons is inspiring fresh enthusiasm from all our pupils, not just those with a particular interest in engineering or computer programming. The students are really thinking about robotics and control, and testing out their theories.”

Projects inspired by the new robot include creating a camera mount to turn the robotic arm into a motion control camera, and adding wheels to its motor control board for extra movement. Cross-curricular projects with the Computer Science department are also planned.

The robotic arm was donated by Richard Yeomans, founder and Managing Director of York-based Tesla Automation, which designs and manufactures electrical control panels and systems. Mr Yeomans supported the campaign to raise funds to build Pocklington School’s £2.5m Art and Design Technology Centre, which opened last year, and is a school parent.

He said: “Creativity and innovation of the kind nurtured by Pocklington School’s new Art and Design Technology Centre are absolutely central to electrical engineering.  I’m keen to encourage students to think afresh about how engineering and computer science are of real practical use in our everyday lives.

“The wealth of talent and creative flair among today’s students is what businesses like mine need to encourage in order to remain at the forefront of electrical engineering and I am delighted to have been able to provide this robotic arm for the students to use.”