By Mansur Abubakar
17-year-old Isah Barde wey dey stay Kano for northwest Nigeria na one of di few pipo for di world wey dey look back to coronavirus lockdown of 2020 with some positives as na day time e get ginger to do sometin wey put am for di public eye.
E design robot wit cardboards and e dey move.
Isah na pesin wey get interest for invention since e small, e tell BBC Pidgin inside interview say e first start by designing tractors and excavators before e shift im mind to robots.
A Secondary student at di time, Isah say e get im inspiration from movies and videos online and na from dia e put am for im mind say e go begin design robot.
“Di truth be say nobody teach me to design robots, I dey watch movies and I dey see how dem dey move and how dem dey do tins na dat one attract me to begin design my own.”
Di young man wey just get federal goment scholarship to study for Computer Engineering for Baze University inside Nigeria capital Abuja yan say some of di materials e use for im robot na simple and everyday items.
‘E take me two years to finish am’
“I use cartons, pen covers, bottles those na materials wey no hard to get den e come also get di ones wey I go buy for market like DC motors.” Isah tok.
“Di DC motors na di most expensive of di materials I use for my design and na just N500 for each one and I use six inside di robot.”
“After I design di robot finish, na dia my next mission start wey be to make am dey move instead of just for am to just dey, so I come begin work on di exoskeleton wey make am begin move.”
“So at di moment, di robot fit mimick wetin I dey do if I move my hand up e go do same and if I bring am down, e go also copy me and im fingers fit also grab sometin.” Isah add.
Isah also tok say e take am two years to finish di robot design wey e use attract NITDA wey give am scholarship in line with im ambition.
‘E get challenge’
Isah tok say some of di challenges wey e face na lack of some of di high powered materials wey e for like use and also di fact say some pipo no believe am wen e first say e wan design robot.
E also tok say at times, e go finish one section of di robot but go begin unbundle am because e don see beta unit wey go work for di place.
“For my area, nobody don see robot physically so wen you say you wan build am, some pipo no go take you serious.”
Di 100 level student say afta e finish di work, pipo begin praise am for wetin e achieve.
“Dem begin say wow we neva know say u fit achieve sometin like dis.
“Wetin dis experience teach me be say if you want do sometin, no dey bother about wetin pipo dey tok just do am.”
‘Just my starting point’
Isah tok say as far as robots dey concerned, dis na just starting point for am as e wan build a bigger and beta robot.
“Dis na just my starting point, my dream na to build artificial intelligence robot di ones wey go fit control themselves automotically without any remote control.”
E also hail im family for di support wey dem give am to achieve wetin im do.
