New Child-Safety Prototype unveiled

Evie, a pupil at Much Woolton Catholic Primary School, submitted her engineering idea to Primary Engineer’s annual UK STEM competition which asks pupils aged 3 –19 the question “If you were an engineer, what would you do?” in 2025.

She was recognised as one of the highly commended in her year group at the Liverpool, Merseyside & Cheshire award ceremony, one of 25 regional UK events, in 2025.

Her solution is The Helpful Robot, Charlotte, is an interactive prototype inspired by Evie’s design, which imagined a friendly robot that helps lost children find their way home.

Each year Industry and University partners of Primary Engineer choose a pupil’s idea to build into a Prototype and to be revealed a year later at the regional awards ceremony.

The team from Liverpool John Moores University transformed her original idea into a full-scale working prototype designed for use in environments such as festivals, theme parks and holiday parks. Children wearing an identification wristband can interact with Charlotte, who helps reunite them with their parent or guardian or alerts venue staff if assistance is needed. Combining mechanical engineering, electronics, computing and additive manufacturing, Charlotte demonstrates how a child’s imagination can inspire innovative engineering solutions to real-world challenges.

The finished prototype was officially unveiled on 7th July at the Liverpool, Merseyside & Cheshire regional award ceremony hosted at Liverpool John Moores University.

The 2026/27 Competition is Officially OPEN so get involved to experience the fun! Register for full competition access and resources here: https://leadersaward.com/resource-area-registration/