There is a lot of ingenuity in the Hardnett home. Erin and C.J., siblings and students at Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology, have won numerous awards for their inventions, which they have shared in some impressive scientific circles nationwide. And in August, Erin, a rising senior, will compete in a science fair in Japan. Even neater is that this dynamic duo is focused on saving lives. Erin has created an app to help blind people evacuate burning buildings. C.J., a rising junior, has developed a system of robots that detects and extinguishes fires on naval ships. In their spare time, sister and brother are normal teenagers who enjoy sports, music and giving each other the business.
Q: Does science come naturally?
Erin: Yes, my mom is a mathematician and my dad is a computer science professor. I do have to work on the natural sciences.
C.J.: Same. You still have to put in the work. You can't just wake up one day and say, "I want to be a scientist."
Q: What do you like about science?
Erin: When I was in grade school, my dad took me to summer camps dealing with computer science. I have been fascinated with working with technology ever since.
C.J.: My elementary school had a robotics team of builders and programmers. I was usually a builder. As I progressed, I started to become more of a programmer.
Q: Talk about your inventions.
Erin: My app is called V.I.B.E.S., which stands for "Visually Impaired Building Evacuation System." It uses Bluetooth and technology from Apple, iBeacon, to help a person navigate the shortest path out of a building in case of a fire.
C.J.: I came up with a system of robots that communicate with each other to locate and extinguish fires on Navy aircraft carriers.
Q: How did you come up with them?
Erin: When I was in the seventh grade, there was a blind student at my school. He normally had a guide but I saw him one day without that person. I wondered what would happen if he was by himself and had to deal with an emergency.
CJ: When I was in the seventh grade, I was trying to come up with a project related to the military. One of the first things that popped up was about shipboard autonomous firefighting robots, which can find and put out ship fires. It was really expensive. I wanted to come up with a less expensive solution.
Q: What’s the status of your ideas?
Erin: I hope to get it out to the public soon.
C.J.: I'm still developing the code and improving the design of my robots. I plan to visit a team of roboticists at the U.S. Office of Naval Research soon to exchange ideas.
Q: What are you up to now?
Erin: I am doing an internship at CareerBuilder, working on an app that allows you to see information about a job quickly, rather than having to access different servers. I am also working on an app that helps me decide what outfit to wear in the morning. I design my own clothes, play soccer and the flute.
C.J.: I am trying to get as much programming experience as I can. I play the alto and tenor saxophones. I am also a second-degree black belt in karate.
Q: Are you competitive with each other?
Erin: Very, especially during competitions.
C.J.: We don't do a lot of similar stuff but, yes, we are competitive.
About the Author
