Megan Furter is dominating the art of Robotics

At only 16 years old, St Dominic’s Newcastle’s Megan Furter is making a name for herself in the field of robotics.

Alongside her fellow learner, Paula van Zyl, Megan she placed first in her division at the KwaZulu-Natal Regional World Robotics Olympiad (WRO) in Ballito on September 1, and earned a ranking in the provinces top achievers.

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For their efforts, the girls received a gold medal and a title worth crowing about.

Despite the misconception that robotics is a male-dominated interest, Megan and Paula poured their hearts into each wire and circuit board, creating their little robot who they’ve since named Bartholomew.

Megan said they had about eight months to prepare for WRO, during which they designed, built and programmed the robot.

“One of the rules of the competition was that we were not allowed to show up with a fully assembled robot. We were given a certain amount of time at the competition to reassemble our robots from memory. The scary part about this was just hoping Bartholomew still worked the way we had him before taking him apart,” she said.

Robots were judged on their ability to move blocks, while differentiating between size and colour.

When asked how they felt after being informed they had won in their division, Megan said she and Paula were overjoyed but in a state of mild disbelief.

Megan said they had to fight harder to prove robotics was not just for boys.

The win landed the two a guaranteed spot at the WRO National Championships in Gauteng on September 29 in Gauteng, and the girls are already prepping Bartholomew for the new challenges he will certainly face.

Megan thanked her mother, Cindy for her support both before and at the competition.

She also thanked her father for putting up with the hassles the competition created, and her mentor, Cornelius Moller for his support and assistance in ensuring the robot functioned correctly.

Lastly, she thanked her friend, Mithila Kotte, who competed alongside her last year and motivated her to enter again.

“If it was not for Mithila who encouraged me to compete last year, and if we hadn’t had as much fun as we did, I most probably would not have competed this year.”

Cindy said she was extremely proud of what her daughter had accomplished in her life so far.

“Megan is an extremely humble child, and I am completely overjoyed watching her grow and achieve greatness.”

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When the shy genius is not busy building robots or burying her nose in books, she can be found practising her archery skills or entertaining her family through a love of playing the guitar.

Wherever she may find herself in future, Megan Furter will certainly be one of Newcastle’s brightest achievers.

She has already established herself as a young woman who never allows anything to stop her from achieving greatness, even in the face of patriarchy and traditionally male-dominated pursuits.

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