Daily Archives: April 21, 2017

Photo: Steve Gonzales, Staff

Team SESI Big Bang, from Birigui, Brazil, cheer as they compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Global Robotics Championship on Thursday.

Team SESI Big Bang, from Birigui, Brazil, cheer as they compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Global Robotics Championship on Thursday.

Team SESI Big Bang, from Birigui, Brazil, cheer as they compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Global Robotics Championship on Thursday.

Team SESI Big Bang, from Birigui, Brazil, cheer as they compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Global Robotics Championship on Thursday.

Woodlands robotics team returns to global championship

Forty-five students from a Woodlands-based world-champion robotics team are among 15,000 students who gathered Thursday for the start of what organizers say is the "world's largest robotics celebration" at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

"We need more engineers in our society," said Oak Ridge High School senior and veteran robotics competitor London Darce. "Robots are taking over the world, so you want to be the one that's building them, not the one that they're replacing."

Her team, Texas Torque, is one of several Lone Star state teams in the competition. It previously has been a winner at the global championship.

As a result, ConroeISD agreed to construct new robotics labs at The Woodlands College Park High School and Caney Ceek High School, said Texas Torque mentor Sherry Coates. The $2.5million facilities are set to open next month.

'Every kid can go pro'

The Conroe students were among the more than 15,000 K-12 students to descend on Houston this week, arriving from 24 states and 33 countries for the 2017 FIRST Championship. It is an annual robotics competition presented by telecommunication equipment company Qualcomm Inc.

"It's exactly like sports, except we're using robots instead of humans," said Darce.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is the ultimate showdown for student robotics teams around the world, combining sports with the challenges of science and technology.

Inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen founded the New Hampshire-based nonprofit in 1989 to encourage students to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education.

FIRST, in partnership with National Instruments, came to an agreement in 2016 to get robotics recognized as an official varsity sport in school districts across Texas. This year, the initiative brought hands-on science lessons to 1,500 Texas students.

"This is the sport where every kid can go pro," said FIRST President Don Bossi. "The skills they're learning here are directly transferable to a whole host of careers where there is a shortage of people."

FIRST Championships are held around the nation to immerse participants in diverse cultures and accommodate low-income students who aren't able to travel.

This year marks FIRST's arrival in Houston, where it will remain annually until 2020 - generating what promoters estimate will be $30million for the Texas economy. FIRST chose Houston because of the convention center's capacity to hold their attendees, but also for the STEM-centric attractions, such as Johnson Space Center.

Much more than robots

In advance of the competition, students spendsix-eight weeks building their robots for regional events to qualify for FIRST. If qualified, they ship the robots to the Championship's host city. Each team is composed of students from different high schools within the same area.

Throughout the pits, teams were identifiable by their costumes: Texas Torque wore black, but other teams had brightly coloredT-shirts with team logos and matching dyed hair.

During 2 minute matches on a synthetic green field, participants stand on two "airships," or platforms, as their robot races across the field to relocate green balls, meant to represent the robot's "refueling." The robot then delivers fake gears to the airship "pilots."

The main objective is to get each robot hooked onto the airship and raised off the ground, despite their massive weight.

"Quite honestly, when I first heard of FIRST - you know, you hear 'robots,' and quite admittedly, I thought 'this is a little dorky,'" said Jennifer Brunelle, director of Positive NRG, a FIRST sponsor. "But when you talk to the students and see how much they're learning, it's so much more than robots."

The winning teams at this year's FIRST Championships will be awarded after their final matches at Minute Maid Park on Saturday.

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Woodlands robotics team returns to global championship - Chron.com

Robotics company ATI plans to add 275 employees in Apex News & Observer Robotics parts maker ATI Industrial Automation plans to add 275 employees over the next four years in conjunction with a major expansion of its factory and corporate headquarters in Apex. The employee-owned company's revenue has been growing at a 20 ...

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Robotics company ATI plans to add 275 employees in Apex - News & Observer

Knob Noster's inaugural robotics team - Stealth Panther Robotics 6424 - competed in the 10,000 Lakes Regional Robotics Competition on April 8 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where they won the Rookie All-Star award.

The award gives them a berth to the World Championships on April 26 in St. Louis.

At the competition, the Stealth Panther Robotics squad advanced to the quarterfinals before being bounced from the tournament.

The Rookie All-Star award is the highest judged award for first year teams. It is given based on preseason achievements, technical design and execution, competitive performance, gracious professionalism, teamwork, inspiring others to learn about science and technology and overall representation of the FIRST core values.

In this year's competition, the robot must collect and deliver wiffle balls to a boiler, which powers an airship. It must also collect gears for the airship's rotors. For the first 15 seconds of a match the robots operate autonomously, then the teams drivers take over to operate robots for the remainder of the match.

During the final 30 seconds of the match, the robot must acquire and use a rope to climb about the airship before the match ends.

Teams compete in groups of three, called alliances, that consists of robots of other schools participating in the competition.

Knob Noster was also among the 24 teams invited to participate in the Missouri State Robotics Championship May 12-13. The Stealth Panther Robotics are currently ranked 21 out of 72 active teams in Missouri and is the highest ranked rookie team in the state.

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Knob Noster robotics team earns berth to World Championships - The Daily Star-Journal

Kalvin Quakenbush, a junior and the head electrician for the Mustang Robotics, tells the Montabella school board on Monday how he helped design a robot to be able to be successful in the gear component of a competition. Daily News/Meghan Nelson

HOME TOWNSHIP Being involved in robotics has helped Kalvin Quackenbush with his grades and direction after high school graduation.

This program kind of led me where I wanted to go, which is electrical engineering or robotic engineering, said Quackenbush, a Montabella High School junior and the head electrician of Mustangs Robotics.

Robotics is a sport of the mind, say Quackenbush and his coaches. At Montabella High School ninth through 12th grade students must have passing grades to participate in robotics.

One of the countless aspects coaches Tyler and Carrie Harkness enjoy about the robotics program is the direction that students get from participating.

Not only do they get to do all this really cool stuff with their hands, but they also utilizing real life skills that will take them into careers theyre interested in or just general daily life, Carrie said.

Montabella students have been able to participate in a robotics program for the last two years. During Mondays Montabella school board meeting, the coaches and four of the seven members of Mustang Robotics presented what they do as well as let board members know they are looking to fundraise.

(First Robotics) does grant processes trying to get rookie teams, and thats how weve been fortunate at Mustang Robotics is weve been recipients for the first year and second year, Carrie said. Now that were going into our third year, there is no more grant money available through them, and thats why were bringing it here: To try and drum up strong community support.

Mustang Robotics competes through First Robotics, which sets the rules and regulations for competitions. The team had six weeks to build a robot that can shoot balls into a hopper, grab large gears and place them into an airship and climb a rope.

This year, the team spent $3,000 for the two competition entry fees. Coach Tyler Harkness explained some of the cost goes toward materials for the robot, but some of it also goes back to First Robotics or into scholarship funds, which are available nationally.

Besides the $3,000, Mustang Robotics spent $900 building their robot. The maximum that can be spent on the robot is $4,000.

We took a very economical route, Carrie noted. We took robots and stripped every working part from them.

Montabellas team made it to the quarterfinals and placed 16th out of 40 teams. If they had done a bit better, the team would have been eligible to compete at a state competition.

The unique challenge is it would have cost $4,000 for the entry fee just for that tournament, Carrie said. You have about a one-week turnaround to raise that money.

Despite the costs and fundraising efforts the coaches enjoy being a part of the sport for the mind.

I know I have as much fun as they do, and Ive learned more than they did, Tyler said.

Along with the showcase at Montabellas school board meeting, the robotics team hopes to present their robot to the entire school district and find other ways to develop community support to keep the program at Montabella High School.

Link:

Montabella Mustangs Robotics team is looking for support - Greenville Daily News

A Dayton company that has devised a way to help mobility-impaired people better enjoy their meals has won a local business award.

The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and Soin International announced this morning that DESiN LLC has won the 2017 Soin Award for Innovation.

DESiN produces a robotic dining companion known as Obi, which, in the words of a chamber announcement, helps restore dignity for those who, due to various reasons, are not able to enjoyably feed themselves.

We believe dining is one of lifes greatest pleasures that everyone should enjoy, said Jon Dekar, co-founder, DESN. What our device stands for is equally as important as what it does. It represents our belief that living with physical challenges can be fulfilling and inspiring. Technology, and specifically robots, combined with modern design, should facilitate that.

Obi is the first product from DESiN. The first Obi prototype was developed in 2006 by Dekar, who at the time was a University of Dayton engineering student.

Dekar saw the challenges faced by people with disabilities and was exposed to stories as varied as that of his aging grandfather or a 6-year-old girl with Arthrogryposis, the chamber said. Dekar graduated from UD and, with his father Tom, founded DESiN in 2010.

This has been an incredible nine-year journey to go from my dorm room prototype to having Obi units manufactured and ready to sell, Dekar said in the chambers release.

The Soin Award panel of judges is made up of area business leaders and representatives from small business supporters.

The creators and entrepreneurs behind Obi win a $25,000 prize and marketing opportunities.

The Soin Award for Innovation began on the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerces 100th anniversary as a way to honor the businesses carrying on the innovative heritage of the Dayton region. The Raj Soin family has been the benefactor of the award since its inception.

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Dayton Business: Robotics company wins Soin award - Dayton Daily News

Just 126 students go to class at Mohawk middle and high schools, but nearly 50 of those kids call the robotics classroom home. (SBG)

MARCOLA, Ore. -- They've only been at it for two years, but robotics students from Mohawk middle and high schools are ready to compete on a world stage and the kids are excited.

Advisor and lead instructor Renee Klein says it's like working with big kids toys. The toys in this case are robots with a serious educational mission.

It's a new program the Marcola community has rallied around.

Just 126 students go to class at Mohawk middle and high schools, but nearly 50 of those kids call the robotics classroom home.

Klein says its not set up as a standalone course.

This program is also supported in our computer science program, where they are learning computer programming., Klein says, adding they're learning video game design as well.

Now, through a company called VEX, eight youngsters are headed to Louisville, Kentucky this weekend for the Robotics World Championships.

Im really excited; honestly, it means like a ton to me, says eighth grade robotics student Justin Bolton. Being able just to qualify for worlds just means a lot.

And if you think robotics is just for a select number of science whiz kids, think again. In the Marcola district, grades 6 through 12, about one third of that total student body, are involved in robotics.

I work with my dad and I like to build a lot, so it's really fun for me, says eighth grader Kendyle Gormley.

Oregon had only three middle school slots open for the VEX Worlds, and Mohawk qualified two teams.

For Klein, it's the ultimate reward.

It's so fun for me to see kids come into the program with absolutely zero skills and then be able to go and be competitive and be able to do things that they didn't even know that they could do.

Klein says the VEX World Championships will be three days of competition involving about 1,400 students from the US and 30 foreign nations.

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Mohawk robotics students to compete on world stage - KVAL

HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS CREATE AND BATTLE ROBOTSRobots battle in Knoxville | 2:56

Thirteen local high school robotics teams joined 35 more for this year's regional robotics competition at Thompson-Boling Arena. Wochit

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The 2017 Smoky Mountains Regional Robotics Competition at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville hosted hundreds of high school students whose teams competed with their own, individually built robots. Andrew Capps

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Members of the Secret City Wilbots work on their robot between the final rounds of the 2017 FIRST Robotics Smoky Mountain Regional Competition on March 25.(Photo: Andrew Capps / News Sentinel)Buy Photo

High school robotics teams from Oak Ridge High School, Farragut High School, Hardin Valley Academy, L&N STEM Academyand South Doyle High School are battlingin Houston this week for the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)Robotics World Championship.

The five teams previously competed with nine other local teams and 35 from the broader region at the 2017 FIRST RoboticsSmoky Mountain Regional Competition at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.

Oak Ridge High School was a finalist team at the Smoky Mountain Regional and won an engineering inspiration award. Farragut High School won the overall competition at the Smoky Mountain Regionallast month, and Hardin Valley Academy won another regional competition in Palmetto.

However, teams don't have to place in the finals to go to the world championships. They can get there by winning other awards too. South Doyle High School qualified for the finals when itwon two rookie awards for its first year in the competition: the Rookie All Star Award and the Highest Rookie Seed Award.

In addition to winning the Palmetto regional, Hardin Valley Academy won the Chairman's Award at the Smoky Mountain Regional for having a well-rounded team businessand performing well in outreach projects and competitions.

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"It never gets old," David Nuttall, the Hardin Valley Academy team mentor, said."It's always a challenge. This is our first year tochange out our drive team, and we have the very good fortune that this team is just as good as our previous one."

Nuttall, who is a composites engineer at the ORNL Manufacturing Demonstration Facility,is one of about 15 scientists, researchers and engineers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory who mentor Knoxville-area robotics teams. He began mentoring about six years ago when his son was a student on Hardin Valley's team and has continued with the program ever since.

"There's that sense of pride that you feel like you might have touched their lives to help them along," he said. "To see them from one year to the next year, to the next year, really, it's all about maturing. They're still high school kids who mature into pre-adults and adults who are ready to go off to college, and it's just really fascinating and fun."

UT-Battelle supports 11 regional teams. Scientists, researchers and engineers at TVA and from Y-12's contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security, also mentor teams across the state.

As many as 15 from as far as Johnson City participate in ORNL "Lunch and Learns" during their robot building season. Teams show up on Saturdays to eat lunch and talk about their projects with each other.

"Every team representative tries to get up and share what they've learned this week, what they need help with and what support they can give other teams, and if they need support we can reach out and help them too," Nuttall said.

Helping rival teams is not uncommon in the FIRST robotics program, which teachestenets like gracious professionalism and"coopetition," a term FIRST coined that means bettering others to better yourself.

ORNL also helps teamsuse 3-D printers to print parts for their robots at theManufacturing Demonstration Facility. Claus Daniel, the Farragut High Schoolteam mentor, said the Hardin Valley Academy team worked with ORNL and First Robotics to donate 4503-D printers to teams across the country thatdon't have the resources to print robotic parts.

"Everyone wants to win on their own merit, rather than wanting to win because someone else had a disadvantage," saidDaniel, who also directs ORNL's sustainable transportation program.

Daniel is on the ground at the Houston world championships with the Farragut High School team he mentors. FIRST holds two world championships each year to accommodate its growing number of teams.

Teams from the Southern and Western United States, the Middle East, South Africa and China are participating in Houston this week. Next week, teams from the northeastern United States, eastern Canada, Europe and other parts of Asia will compete in St. Louis.

"We see the sametenets exercised internationally here," Daniel said. His team's booth in Houston is neighbored by teams from Mexico, Turkey and China. "For teams who are coming from really far away, it can get expensive to send all of their stuff over."

The Turkish robotics team looked Daniel's Farragut team up before the competition and sent itssoon-to-be neighbors a request for help with supplies.

"They said, 'Hey, we can't send everything we have, can you help us out?' So we got together with a few other teams to make sure they got their tools, their fire extinguishersand things like that," he said. "So, they only had to bring the robot, and everything else comes from other teams helping them out so they can do their best too."

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Local robotics teams battle in Houston for championship - Knoxville News Sentinel