Hicksville High School robotics team J Birds flies Monday to win the best business model at the Altice Innovator Awards.
Jesse Kohli says that because of the pandemic, he and his teammates saw how the elderly and grandparents were isolated, so they came up with the idea of using live action and virtual reality to help them connect with the outside world.
“That’s the first thing that came to us all. What about the elderly?” says Kohli. “Sometimes it gets lonely for them, especially during COVID.”
Thus, Altice Innovators took on the challenge of developing an idea that would improve the physical and mental health of members of their community. They came to what they call Aureum, which is Latin meaning golden.
Kohli says they really wanted to impact the community and do something that would benefit all generations.
The Aureum allows grandparents to connect with virtually a grandchild on a field trip, bike ride, or any adventure.
“And older people put on virtual reality headsets and can watch and be with the teen while they do it,” Kohli says.
Ekam Singh says it helps the elderly with mental and physical health and it is absolutely amazing.
Coach Catherine Temps says she is proud of the team.
“It’s just about helping others, that’s our number one priority since we started,” Temps says.
The team received a $ 2,500 grant from Altice to be allocated to next year’s competition quotas.
Altice is a proud sponsor of First Robotics, which promotes the development of STEM and business skills. The Altice Innovators Award has been held for the past two years, awarding teams recognition for their innovative work and providing the opportunity to earn additional funding for their teams.
Altice is the parent company of News 12.