The empire stormed the Engine Shed last Wednesday as Future 2.0 came back to Lincoln for the third year.
The technology convention, which was hosted by university staff, opened its doors once again to schools and members of the public in aid to educate as many as possible about the developments of robotics and the significance of sci-fi, not only in the film industry but in society.
And it has proved successful yet again. The Engine Shed was buzzing with Star Wars and robotics fans eager to get involved with all the various stands and activities.
This included a Robot wars influenced arena where people could race bots around a track. And Pepper the humanoid robot who was playing against attendees at noughts and crosses.
The main attraction in the centre of the Engine Shed was a lightsaber master class. Giving school pupils and students alike the chance to transform into their favourite Jedi knights and battle each other.
Actor and fight teacher, Christos Dante ran the classes as Kylo Ren, alongside co-instructor Rey. In an interview, he talked about his passion for the franchise and what came out of it.
“I like Star Wars but I’ve always loved lightsabers. It’s such a cool weapon and it’s very visual… if someone starts a fight in a film with a lightsaber the fight just elevates to a different level. Everyone wants to watch it.”
“I think getting kids involved with something like this is good. It’s a martial art so it teaches them discipline, it teaches them to respect their colleagues or partners and it teaches them control so they won’t hurt the other person when they are fighting”
The event was also attended by Lincoln Alumnus, Thomas Ridgewell, known to most people as Tomska who spoke on a panel about his career in YouTube, making his own sketches and short films.
Organisers of the event are already looking forward to next year’s convention.