DESIGNING ROBOTS OF TOMORROW

Sartaj Chaddha’s passion for robotics has seen him design a drone that could one day revolutionise the way firefighters respond to emergencies.

Sartaj Chaddha

From the moment five-year-old Sartaj Chaddha flicked through the contents of a science magazine, he knew his life would never be the same. "The magazine described the wonderful world of robotics and I was taken aback by what I saw, and all the things I could create," he said.

Nine years later, Sartaj's inventions has seen him design a robot that can tread through a hole in a wall, a homemade RC plane with two motors, and a robotic elephant that can raise its trunk and walk, to name a few.

His favourite creation so far is a sprayer drone, created in collaboration with his father, out of carbon fibre. The drone was designed with a removable attachment that can remotely spray fire extinguishers and paint. "By doing this, it opens us to the possibility of doing dangerous jobs like firefighting or complex tasks like painting skyscrapers and cleaning skyscrapers, remotely," Sartaj explained.

During lockdown, Sartaj created two robots: a wheelless car and an automated robot that follows a visual line embedded on the floor. "Both robots were a success, though I attempted to create an advanced robot that could draw the school's logo. While it was not successful due to the very limited resources I could find to help me code and draw [during lockdown], I am now planning to complete the robot before moving onto another project I have in mind," he said.

Sartaj has been studying Robotics Engineering as an elective for two years and credits the subject with advancing his knowledge, saying, "I have learnt a lot about how different types of contraptions can be used in a project. Take for instance a mousetrap car: you can use the mousetrap alone to make the car move. Doing this has taught me how to use different types of forces and actions in my creations."

Before joining Southern Cross Grammar in 2019, Sartaj and some friends in his school's Robotics Club created a robot that could tread through a hole in a wall.

Sartaj aims to one day become a robotics engineer or robotics entrepreneur and create inventions that solve big problems in our world. "I love innovation and finding problems, and I hope [to create] solutions to world problems with robotics to build a better world.

A 3D render of Sartaj's drone with a removable attachment that can remotely spray fire extinguishers and paint