Informatics students showcase innovative assistive robotics at SDP Trade Fair

SDP was a challenging and rewarding experience that taught us how to take an idea from concept to reality.

Our project, PiggyBank+, is an interactive educational tool designed to teach children the value of money through engaging math games. One of the biggest challenges was ensuring all physical components - like the 3D-printed sorting block, sensor placements, and the coin dispensing mechanism—were precisely measured and aligned to work seamlessly together. Winning the Peer Vote and Best Pitch prizes at the Trade Fair was a proud moment that made all the late nights worth it!

Working on CarromBot through SDP was a great hands-on learning experience. We faced challenges integrating hardware and computer vision for the first time, but collaborating closely as a team helped us overcome them and bring the project together in the end. It was rewarding to see our efforts come to life and share our work at the Trade Fair.

The course pushed us to step outside our comfort zones, apply our learning in real-world scenarios, and adapt quickly when things didn’t go as planned. We had to figure things out as we went, from getting the striker to flick reliably to troubleshooting why the vision system wasn’t picking up the right pieces. SDP was a great experience that not only strengthened technical skills but also gave us a new level of confidence in working through complex challenges as a team.