Meet Baxter

August 11th, 2016

Heathfield High School students have welcomed a new and exciting class mate to their school this year with the introduction of the states very first collaborative robot – Baxter.

At two metres tall and 140 kilograms, Baxter is quite different to his classmates, but this hasn’t stopped him from becoming a great friend and learning partner to everyone.

Playing a key role in the school’s science, technology, engineering and maths curriculum, $50,000 Baxter is seen as a great addition to the education of Heathfield High’s students.

Advanced technologies curriculum coordinator Daniel Seymour said this is a great step forward for the school and their technology department.

“Having Baxter is a way for the school to keep ahead of the current trends,” he said.

“He really sparks kids’ interest in technology and is a bit of a novelty in the classroom.”

“They were a bit unsure of him to start off with but they quickly adapted and learnt how to program him,” he said.

Already programming Baxter to make a hamburger, students are quickly learning new skills which will help them in their future studies.

“With cameras in his wrists, students can program logical sequences so he can make the burger all by himself,” Daniel said.

Year 9 student Emily Possingham is one of the lucky students given the opportunity to work side by side with Baxter.

“I really like having him in the classroom, he is really cool and easy to program,” she said.

“He definitely helps us to learn – we get to program him by ourself without any help from anyone else.

“I would like to continue working with Baxter and hopefully other technology based classes at school.”

Although Baxter spends most of his time working with year 8 and 9 students, older students are not missing out on the fun.

The school’s advanced manufacturing area, used by year 10 and 11 students includes robots, conveying belts and other exciting technology to further their education.

“We want to keep up to speed with technological advancements and this is a way to do that - we might see robots in our houses doing cleaning soon,” Daniel said.

Principal of Heathfield High School Alistair Brown said Baxter is a great way to incorporate technology into the curriculum.



“It’s been remarkable – the students are really taking some risks in terms of their learning and education using quite a high level of maths to program Baxter,” he said.

“He can be used in many areas of the school including humanities, it isn’t just focused on science and maths.”

This is just the beginning for Heathfield High School and their technology department as they keep a keen eye on the current advancements in technology and education throughout the country.

“We are a state leader in terms of integrating technology into the curriculum – our staff don’t shy away from the future’s focus and they want to make it a part of the curriculum,” Alistair said.

“Instead of robots replacing staff members they are becoming coworkers.

“We are constantly looking at where the industry is heading – we want to be at the forefront of technology in education.”

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