Biofore Magazine 2022

TECH HUB

57

Functionality is most important at this stage of the project. Aswellasbeingaffordable,therewasalsoanenvironment- al aspect when it came to the decision to use plywood: the Hynebot’s entire frame is recyclable, and the plywood can be repurposed once the robot has reached the end of its lifecycle. “For us, using plywood was a brilliant idea. Jamie has al ways liked it as a material and, when used adequately, it’s a more sustainable solution than aluminium. It also enables a flat-packdelivery option, which is handy if the robot needs to be shipped elsewhere,” says Kasurinen. The students have found working on the plywood robot insightful andbeneficial for their studies, aswell as for future work prospects. They list the need to constantly acquire new skills as the best part about the project, regardless of their specialisation. “The Hynebot project provides an insight into various as pects of the robotics building process. There is always room for continuous development, which also adds to the excite ment andmotivation to keep working; there’s always a sense that the coolest features are yet to come,” Baad notes with excitement. Environmental entrepreneurship When it comes to future possibilities for the robot, there are talks of potentially creating open-source code that would be free for educational institutions to use. Both Ikävalko and Kasurinen are aware of the security aspects that will have to be considered before putting any plans into action. “We are creating a stringent protocol regarding who can use the robot. We are using a 'two-key principle', where a fa cilitator and one other person must simultaneously turn on the robot,” Ikävalko states. Ikävalko has no doubt that robots will one day be a part of our daily lives. However, he points out that the public’s perceptions of robots will take a while to change. “Mobile phones are a ubiquitous piece of technology – and it has been a relatively newchange in our lives. In the sameway, soonwe will have robots walking among us in one way or another,” he adds.

The Hynebot can act as an avatar for a physically distant teacher.