“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.”

17-year-old Isah Auwal-Barde, from Kano State, Nigeria, has invented a robot that works with a robotic exoskeleton remote control. Exoskeleton remote control is a system of controlling a robot by the person operating it through demonstration with parts of his body.

A delegation from the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) paid him a visit owing to his unique skills and promised to secure admission for him to one of the indigenous universities to study computer engineering.

“Now, I want to get a scholarship to further my education abroad to fulfil my dream of becoming a robotics engineer,” he said.

Auwal-Barde grew up with a great passion for creativity, with his father always offering great support.

“I have been giving him words of encouragement and telling him that he will become a robotics engineer in future,” said his father. “And whenever our electricity or electronics had faults, he was the one to repair them.”

“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 the teenager.