Abstract
The courses of Tech120, CGT110, and ENGT 180/181 and Red Gold at Purdue collaborated to design a robot that would plant and water a garden for a local community charter school. The students centered the project on the users’ needs for fresh food, nutrition education, and early exposure to STEM for children. The school, Anderson Preparatory Academy (APA), is comprised of many children who come from low-income families and are in the free or reduced lunch program. Inspired from “Farm Bot,” a similar system that allows for almost hands-free gardening, the “Boiler Bot” is designed to be scalable so children at the charter school can work to expand it and yield more food. The students of Purdue made certain that the Boiler Bot provided access to fresh produce, while encouraging children to take interest in STEM fields. The kids gain pride in growing food while learning about robotics, agriculture, and teamwork. APA and Purdue share a vision in which students of both schools can work collaboratively and expand on this robotic greenhouse.
Recommended Citation
Simpson, Courtney
(2017)
"Answering Food Insecurity: Serving the Community With Food and Knowledge Using Technology,"
Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement: Vol. 4
:
Iss.
1,
Article 10.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316528
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