Kent Robotics Champions Win Regional Title and Put Kent’s Past in the Spotlight
The Kent Archaeological Society is delighted to congratulate Lord of the Bricks, a Kent-based FIRST LEGO League robotics team, on winning the Kent Regional Robotics Championship for the second time – and securing the award for the highest robot score.
The team will now go on to represent the region at the National Championship on 25 April, where they will showcase not only their engineering skills but also an innovative collaboration with the Kent Archaeological Society.
The Lord of the Bricks team receiving their award - Guhan Karthicraja, Arvin Pappala, Elliot Newman, Toby Oscar Merrill, Srisakthi Karthicraja, Esha Rai, Florence Ingram, Anaisa Jain, and Aaliya Mohamed, with mentors Mr. Karthicraja Gopalakrishnan, Chief AI Architect at Infosys, and Dr. Logeswari Jeyaraj Nallathambi, MD at Ourlocalonline and Wellbe Ltd.
Young innovators meet 150 years of history
During the Innovation judging session at the regional tournament, the children chose to highlight their work with the Kent Archaeological Society, focusing on:
the Society’s expertise and passion for archaeology
the 150-year digital archive of Kent’s past
and KAS’s ongoing digital transformation, including new AI-driven tools to help people explore local history.
The team has been working with KAS volunteers and staff to develop an “archaeologist” AI assistant and games platform, designed to make the Society’s extensive archives more accessible to professional archaeologists, students, families and schools.
Try it out!
Try out the team’s chatbot on the Kent Archaeological Society website - select the icon in the bottom right corner of the screen or go to www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/chat
A huge thank you and congratulations
Jacob Scott, KAS Digital Manager, said:
“We are incredibly proud of what the team has achieved. They’ve not only won a major robotics title, but shown how cutting-edge technology can help people make sense of historic records, monuments and excavations across Kent. Their enthusiasm and curiosity are exactly what we hope to inspire in the next generation of historians and archaeologists.”
Andy Ward, KAS Curator, added:
“Seeing young people engage so deeply with our collections and then translate that into a robotics and AI project is inspiring. It’s a powerful reminder that archaeology is not just about the past – it’s also about how we use new tools to share those stories in the future.”
Dr Logeswari Jeyaraj Nallathambi, said:
“The children are absolutely thrilled – not just about winning the regional championship again, but about being able to champion the work of the Kent Archaeological Society.
During judging, they spoke with real pride about KAS’s archives, the Society’s expertise, and the way archaeology can come alive through digital tools. We are all deeply grateful for the encouragement, guidance and trust the Society has given them.”
Next steps: refining the “archaeologist” chatbot
In the coming weeks, the team and Society are planning further working sessions to refine and test the new tools. The student team has proposed the following development plan:
Home page design improvements to better highlight the AI assistant and learning tools.
Fifteen-day testing of the “Archaeologist” persona, reviewing real questions and answers to improve clarity, accuracy and structure.
Content workshop with KAS experts to shape on-page explanations, FAQs and guidance for different audiences.
Installation of an artefact game and KS3 interactive learning activities for the Kids AI chatbot, helping younger learners explore archaeology in a playful way.
The team also hopes to visit Maidstone Museum to meet members of the KAS team in person to discuss further ideas for interactive learning and public engagement.
Watch the team receiving their award.
