How Sohail built the window to his future
With a life as busy as Sohail Abdulla’s, most people would find it near impossible to find the time to build a fully functioning robot from scratch.
But that’s exactly what Sohail did in 2013, when the then Mt Roskill Grammar student took first place at the ASB Bright Sparks competition. His prize-winning invention was a window-cleaning robot, which he created to help his father who suffered from knee and back pain.
“The ASB Bright Sparks competition was the foundation of my journey with my Robotic Glass Cleaner. The competition helped me realise my passion for technology and inspired me to pursue a career in Mechatronics Engineering,” Sohail recalls.
Sohail is now in his third year of completing a Mechatronics Engineering degree at the University of Auckland. He has also worked as a junior engineer at several companies, including Trimble Navigation, which provided him the opportunity to design and build more robots.
In his spare time, he does an online course in business management and entrepreneurship, works with quadcopters and aerial photography, and conducts research into the uses of 3D modelling in the fashion industry. If the Robotic Glass Cleaner is anything to go by, it is simply the start of what is sure to be a very promising career for Sohail.
“The practical experience I gained from my ASB Bright Sparks project helped me relate the theory I learn at university to real world problems and, I believe, gave me an advantage over other students,” Sohail adds.
The constant refinements Sohail is making to his robot are testament to the dedication he applies to his projects. The robot is now into its third prototype, which he hopes will feature integration with a smartphone app.
In addition to providing the platform to showcase his invention, Sohail says that ASB Bright Sparks taught him a range of important life skills.
“The ASB Bright Sparks events helped me work on my communication and networking skills and I was able to meet some very inspiring individuals,” he explains.
As Sohail works towards completing his engineering degree, he is also studying business so he can learn how to commercialise his inventions. After doing a Masters in engineering, his long-term goal is to become an entrepreneur so he can “put [his] inventions in the hands of consumers”.
“Being part of ASB Bright Sparks was a very exciting experience. As a two-time participant, I learned many skills that will be useful to me as an engineer in the workforce,” he concludes.
“ASB Bright Sparks started my career off well and set me on the right path to being a successful engineer.”