On the weekend of October 18-19, the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) hosted the HARU Workshop, an exciting event that introduced learners to advanced robotics and encouraged global collaboration. The workshop cantered around Haru, a conversational robot, and brought together learners from Namibia, Denmark, and the USA. It was a unique blend of technology, creativity, and cultural exchange.

Haru was designed to facilitate conversations between children from different countries. Learners got to interact with the robot, engaging in conversations that gave them insights into the lives, cultures, and traditions of their peers across the globe. Haru demonstrated just how powerful technology can be in breaking down barriers and connecting people, no matter where they are from.

The workshop didn’t stop at cultural exchange, it also gave participants a chance to flex their creative muscles by designing their own robots. These sessions challenged learners to think about how robots could help with everyday tasks, like shopping or managing consumption. The ideas they came up with were impressive, practical solutions.

The HARU Workshop was a collaborative effort involving NUST, Aalborg University in Denmark, Honda Research Institute Japan, and Indiana University Bloomington in the USA. This international partnership brought together expertise from across the globe, providing participants with valuable knowledge about robotics, design, and cultural collaboration. For the learners, the HARU Workshop was much more than a robotics event. It was an opportunity to engage with cutting-edge technology, develop problem-solving skills, and gain a new appreciation for cultural diversity. The lessons they took away from the experience will likely stay with them for a long time.

The HARU Workshop showed just how impactful technology can be when it’s used to connect people and foster understanding. By blending creativity, collaboration, and cultural exchange, it created a memorable experience that left a lasting impression on everyone who took part.

The community in Donkerbos is currently contributing to the development of natural hand gestures, which are to be used in a Virtual Reality (VR) system. Bringing VR into the bush with local communities provided community members an opportunity to re-explore interactions in VR as they enhanced and extended their VR experience with the said system.

On a recent MTC-funded trip to Donkerbos , led by Prof Heike Winschiers-Theophilus from NUST and Dr Kasper Rodil together with Emilie Arendttorp, both from Aalborg University (AAU), Denmark, a new prototype developed by students at AAU, was evaluated. The prototype consisted of hand gestures which have been co-designed by the community on a previous visit. Four movement gestures were implemented, which are used to guide a person back, forwards, left, and right.

After having tried the prototype the community provided feedback upon the implemented gestures for further development. The next step is to implement an old traditional San story into VR while continuing the work on exploring the use of natural gestures.

Namibia’s ICT solution provider, MTC and the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST),

signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which focusses collaboration in areas such as

Emerging and Disruptive technologies, Ubiquitous and Pervasive Computing, Electronic Engineering

and other Engineering Disciplines, Marketing and Communication, Telecommunication Products and

Services, Cyber Security and Forensics, User Experience, amongst others.

As part of this partnership, MTC availed digital equipment to facilitate a cutting-edge

EdTech innovation research and community development project that NUST runs in collaboration with

the People’s Primary School (PPS) in Windhoek. The project aims to establish novel learning ecologies

including remote presence learning and interactive technologies, which enable children across the

country and continents to jointly learn, share and create new knowledge.