Pierce – The American College of Greece is the first school in Europe to implement the pilot secondary education program RACECAR, designed by Beaver Works Summer Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), with the support of the non-profit organization “Mathisi Initiative.”
Pierce is constantly promoting research and innovation and always strives to secure internationally recognized educational programs that give our students the opportunity to develop their special abilities and to cultivate their creativity.
This particular pilot program aims to reinforce students’ knowledge and abilities in the field of programming, robotics and technology, combining theory with practice. Sixteen Gymnasium students will take part in the program, in which they will receive the required guidelines on the following subjects:
- Programming (Python)
- Artificial vision (OpenCV)
- Robotics (Robot Operation System – ROS) and Control Theory
The students will be divided in four 4-member teams. Along with the theoretical approach to every subject, each team will assemble its own automobile and, with the help of the appropriate software and the corresponding algorithms, they will incorporate into it the necessary sensors and codes to create, in the end, a self-driving car!
At the end of the school year, the four teams will have the opportunity to take part in the Grand Prix, at which each team will compete with its own code and its own algorithms. At the competition, the winner will be the self-driving car that succeeds in traveling along a specific route the fastest.