Seventeen-year-old Isah Auwal-Barde has dubbed himself the first Nigerian humaniod robot inventor, and in proving so, he’s letting his innovation and creativity do all the talking.
According to Nigerian reports, the aspiring robotics engineer from Kano State in Nigeria has invented a robot that works with exoskeleton remote control, which allows the operator to control the humanoid through demonstrating movements with parts of his body.
Auwal-Barde started his journey in 2020 after he was inspired to create robots he’d seen in movies. Now, Auwal-Barde’s robot Mutum Mutumi
, made from cardboard and other miscellaneous materials the inventor could find, is in full effect.“It took me two years to invent the robot using local materials like DC motors, copper wires, pipes, corrugated cardboard as well as metal, among others, and the robot works with electricity,” the ambitious teenager explained in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), per Nigerian Vanguard News.
Auwal-Barde is a 2021 graduate of Government Secondary School (GSS), Sabuwar-Kofa, Kano. He also holds seven credits in science subjects in the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
“I want to be a robotics engineer so that I can be producing robots that can be used in addressing security challenges bedeviling the country,” said Auwal-Barde.
The budding engineer is already making a name for himself, attracting a visit from the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), a digital innovation and research facility focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics and Drones, Internet of Things (IoT), and other emerging technologies aimed at transforming the Nigerian digital economy.
According to Auwal-Barde, he will be offered an admission to any of the “indigenous” academic institutions to pursue computer engineering.
Auwal-Barde’s father is proud to have witnessed such young creativity and talent emerge. In fact, the teenager is grateful for his father’s support and motivation throughout the process of building his project.
“I have been giving him words of encouragement and telling him that he will become a robotics engineer in future. And whenever our electricity or electronics had faults, he was the one to repair them,” the father told NAN, according to Peoples Gazette.