WETHERSFIELD -- A robotics and engineering class at Wethersfield High School is getting with the program, helping to program a robot for a disabled classmate.
Senior, Kyle Flynn, is stricken with cerebral palsy, wheelchair bound and unable to use his hands to activate a robot controller. In result, fellow students have collaborated to make an adaptive controller for him.
"It's like an Xbox controller," said Behn Sikora, the tech-ed teacher. "We modified it with a larger button so now he can use it with his head."
Kyle, who struggles to speak, was happy to say, "It's fun" as he roamed his robot along his classroom floor.
Junior, Shawn Bertucio, who came up with the plans to get Kyle's robot to be adaptable said, "I thought it was great both because I was able to help him, but mostly because he is now able to participate."
Bertucio hit the lab and put the school's 3-D printer to work to craft a device that Kyle could maneuver with his head and work his robot. Senior, Alexandra Pohl, added, "To see him having the fun like everyone else, it brings happiness to everyone."