"Why doesn't my robot move?" asked a child from Chia-Jen Primary School, his face perplexed, pondering how to make his robot mobile. In total, over 70 students from Chi-Jen Primary joined the Chi-Jen Primary School Robot Fun Winter Camp, held by the TKU Extension Education Center, Division of Continuing Education. The course ran for 25 hours over five days, and turned primary students into miniature robot experts.

The teacher of the course, Master's student Lee Yu-Sheng (TKU Department of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering), explained how participating students learn to operate robots. First, they use computer programs (an NXT motherboard) to assign to their robots a set of fixed motions or movements. Then, using Lego, they combine the NXT motherboard with a geared motor to enable the robot to carry out an array of actions.

The course culminated in a series of contests, in which the students learned to work together, as a team, to rapidly assemble robots.