Archive for April, 2011

« Older Entries
Home

Ample robotics opportunities available to New Mexico students

Thursday, April 28th, 2011
Missing Attachment

A recent report from the Las Cruces Sun-News highlighted the many options available for students in New Mexico looking to further their robotics education during the upcoming summer months. Robotics camps and programs in the state will be offered to students ranging in age from fifth grade to seniors in high school.

The WEDO Robotics program will be offered to rising sixth-graders in two sessions – June 6 to 12 and June 20 to 24. Participants will assist in constructing a zoo of robotics animals.

During the same time periods will be the LEGO NXT Robotics program, Robots Alive. Offered to students entering sixth, seventh and eighth grade, the event will showcase how unique animal traits influence robot designs for human use.

Finally, the VEX Robotics, Game Over program will be offered to middle and high school students June 27 to July 1. An advanced robotics camp for students who have two or more years experience working with NXT robotics, the program will teach how to program and operate a robot through various challenges.

Programs across the country are offering students opportunities to learn about robotics through programs and camps. The Van Sickle Middle School in Springfield, Massachusetts, has a six-week program scheduled for the summer.

Posted in Robot Competitions, Robotics in Education, Robotics Industry News | Comments Off

Girl Scouts receive robotics education

Thursday, April 28th, 2011
Missing Attachment

Girl Scouts from several upstate New York towns recently received a robotics education when they participated in an event at Clarkson University, according to local news provider North Country Now.

Dozens of Girl Scouts ages 5 to 10 from the towns of Potsdam, Colton, Pierrepont, Parishville, Madrid, Norfolk, Norwood and Massena participated, according to the news source. For the program, the Brownie- and Daisy-level Girls Scouts designed, constructed, programmed and tested a robotic alarm clock. The project was based on the book, A Reminder for Emily.

The event was coordinated by leaders Marissa LaCoursiere and Susan Scott in conjunction with undergraduate members of Clarkson's Robotics Living Learning Community and the Northern New York Robotics Institute. LaCoursiere is an engineering graduate from Clarkson, while Scott currently works at the university, North Country Now reports.

The Boy Scouts of America also recently demonstrated the organization's commitment to robotics by adding the first robotics merit badge. To earn the badge, scouts will have to build and program a robot using a robotics kit. The organization said it expects 10,000 scouts to earn the badge during the next 12 months.

Posted in Robot Competitions, Robotics in Education, Robotics Industry News | Comments Off

Seminar teaches young students about robotics

Monday, April 25th, 2011
Missing Attachment

The Latino Chamber of Commerce of Massachusetts recently held its sixth annual Youth Seminar in Springfield, Massachusetts, according to the city's NBC television affiliate. Among the topics discussed was the important role robotics is playing in businesses today.

According to WWLP, students ages 7 to 14 attended the event. On top of learning about the role of robotics education in the business world, participants also got to build a solar-powered robot of their own.

"The seminar provides a great opportunity for kids to gather critical thinking skills that can be used in today's competitive society," Andrew Melendez, director of the Latino Chamber of Commerce in nearby Holyoke, Massachusetts, told the television station.

The seminar also taught participants about the basics of banking, business and ecommerce. That included a step-by-step guide to building an ecommerce website, according to the television station.

This youth seminar is one of several robotics-related events that have been planned for the Springfield area. A six-week robotics education program will take place at the city's Van Sickle Middle School after Springfield assistant director of recreation helped secure a $123,000 grant.

Posted in Robot Competitions, Robotics in Education | Comments Off

Ohio robotics competition keeps growing

Friday, April 22nd, 2011
Missing Attachment

The National Robotics Competition recently wrapped up another successful installment of the annual event in Marion, Ohio, according to a report from the Marion Star.

In all, the event offers participants 13 different robotics competitions, with students ranging from elementary school age all the way through college. This year's event featured nearly 1,000 participants from 45 schools with about 400 robots.

The high prize of the event is the Honda Innovation Award. According to the newspaper, one robot from each competition is nominated, not necessarily for winning but for being unique in terms of design and programming.

"It's quite an achievement to have two projects nominated for the innovation award," Tiffany Krumanaker, a Ridgedale math teacher, said of two Marion County robots nominated. "It shows we're moving in the right direction, focusing on math and technology … preparing our students with the skills needed in the job market."

Another big-time robotics competition, the VEX Robotics World Championship, also recently wrapped up. Held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida, the event featured some of the best robotics teams from across the world.

Posted in Robot Competitions, Robotics in Education | Comments Off

Robotics competition benefits students on many levels

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
Missing Attachment

One educator describes the VEX Robotics World Championship, currently being held in Kissimmee, Florida, as a cross between the Super Bowl and a chess match, noting the many benefits participating students enjoy, according to a recent Orlando Sentinel report.

"Every tournament we've gone into, there are things we learn to do better. That's why we keep going back," Vic Leslie, a teacher at East Ridge Middle School and leader of its robotics team, told the newspaper.

Leslie's and about 600 other teams are competing in the World Championship, which is being held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

The report acknowledges that the event features a "rock-concert-like atmosphere," but still revolves mainly around its academic challenges.

"One of the things I like about this [VEX competition] is that the kids also learn social skills," Leslie said. "They learn what works and what doesn't work, and they learn to ask questions."

Congressman Ralph Hall, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, representatives from the Discovery Channel's Myth Busters and Kari Byron, the host of the hit Science Channel show Head Rush will all be on-hand this weekend at the VEX Robotics World Championship. The event culminates the 2010-11 season for competitors.

Posted in Robot Competitions, Robotics in Education | Comments Off

UNITED STATES, CANADA, CHINA AND NEW ZEALAND TEAMS REIGN SUPREME AT THE VEX ROBOTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Monday, April 18th, 2011

MYTHBUSTERS & HEAD RUSH Host Kari Byron Celebrates Future Innovators at the Ultimate Robotics Competition of the 2010-2011 VEX Robotics Season

Sterling Heights, Mich. – April 18, 2010 – Participants of the 2011 VEX Robotics World Championship were joined this weekend by Kari Byron, host of the Discovery Channel’s hit show MYTHBUSTERS and the Science Channel’s HEAD RUSH, as winning alliances from the Middle School, High School and College competitions triumphed from United States, Canada, China and New Zealand, after outmaneuvering some of the world’s best teams during the intense three-day tournament which took place on April 14-16 at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla.

Upon arrival, students were showered with confetti from bursting canons, welcomed by stilt walkers, a resident DJ, and entertained by a graffiti artist that painting the town robo-red in honor of the intense competition. The games kicked off on Thursday and continued Friday when teams from around the world poured into the stadium for the opening ceremonies, waving colorful flags from their respective countries and hailed by Mickey and friends. “There was so much energy and talent at this year’s VEX Robotics World Championship that it inspired us both on and off the field,” said Grace Hsieh of the winning high school champion alliance from team W.A.S.A.B.I. 2 hailing from Bellevue, Washington. “It was an amazing experience to meet and compete with some of the best teams from all over the world.”

After a series of intense back-to-back matches and elimination rounds, the High School Champion alliance emerged with teams comprised of Massachusetts’ Green Egg Robotics Club, Washington’s W.A.S.A.B.I. 2 and Ontario, Canada’s Simbotics teams. The Middle School Champion represented an alliance of China teams from Sichuan Chengdu Longjiang Road Primary School and the Shanghai Luwan Teenagers Activity Center. The College Championship title went to Massey University from New Zealand. In addition, one team from each of the three divisions was presented with an Excellence Award, the highest honor in the VEX Robotics Competition, given to the team with the most well-rounded VEX Robotics Program. Middle School, High School and College Excellence Award winners included, the VEXMEN: NightCrawler team from Downingtown Area Robotics in Downingtown, Pa., the Cheesy Poofs from Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose, Calif., and Massey University in New Zealand.

“As the fastest growing robotics program and largest middle and high school competition in the world, the VEX Robotics World Championship is a testament to the increasing interest in engaging kids in STEM education through robotics,” said Jason Morrella, president of the REC Foundation, which stands for Robotics Education and Competition Foundation. “Robotics is a perfect model for workforce development, and it’s critical that we prepare our youth to succeed in today’s rapidly-advancing competitive world, by imbedding programs like VEX Robotics into daytime curriculum, and then enabling them to test their skills as an extracurricular activity in events like this.”

The VEX Robotics World Championship was the pinnacle event of the 2010-2011 VEX Robotics Competition season, brought together by the non-profit REC Foundation, VEX Robotics, Inc. and their partners Autodesk, NASA, EMC, Northrop Grumman and Innovation First International. The event drew more than 10,000 middle school, high school and university participants representing 16 countries from around the world, and teams created customized robots built with the VEX Robotics Design System to compete against the best of the best playing the 2010-2011 season game Round Up.

In addition to the Excellence Awards and Middle School, High School and College Champion titles, several other technical and value based awards were presented to teams and individuals in each division for excelling in the following categories: Build, Community, Create, Design, Education, Energy, Future, Innovate, Inspire, Judges, Promote, Sportsmanship, Support, Teamwork, Think, Robot Skills Challenges, Mentor of the Year, Partner of the Year, Teacher of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.

BEST Robotics, a middle and high school national robotics program established in 1993, also hosted its second annual national championship alongside the VEX Robotics World Championship. The Boy Scouts of America were on hand toaward some of the first Robotics Merit Badges to more than 25 deserving scouts. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy AROW hosted its water robotics competition.

Presenting co-sponsors of the 2011 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship include Autodesk Inc., NASA, EMC Corporation, and the FUTURE Foundation. Additional supporting partners include Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation, Microchip, Intelitek, Robotics Academy at Carnegie Mellon University, the CREATE Foundation and Northrop Grumman.

The 2011/2012 VEX Robotics Competition game Gateway was unveiled after much anticipation at the tournament. The object of next year’s game is to attain a higher score than your opponent by picking up colored balls and barrels and placing them in circular goalposts of varying heights.

For more information about the VEX Robotics World Championship and this year’s award winners, please visit RobotEvents.com/championship.

ATTENTION TELEVISION AND WEB MEDIA

VEX Robotics World Championship b-roll supplementing this release is available for local television and web use. Interested media can access the b-roll package and photographs at vexroboticsworldchampionship2011.com/.

About REC Foundation

The REC Foundation, standing for Robotics Education and Competition, is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, supports robotics and technology events and programs that aim to inspire and motivate students to advance in STEM education. In addition to supporting competitions for some of the world’s leading robotics platforms and organizations including VEX, TSA, BOTBALL and BEST, the foundation also provides program support and workshops focused on technology and professional development for educators – including the RobotEvents.com community portal website which helps promote multiple high quality programs and provides online registration and event pages for hundreds of events around the world.

About VEX Robotics and Innovation First International

VEX Robotics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Innovation First International, is a leading provider of educational robotics products to middle schools, high schools and colleges around the world. The VEX Robotics Design System, winner of the 2006 Best of Innovations Award at CES, was built from the ground up and designed to be an affordable, accessible and scalable platform used to teach science, technology, engineering and math education worldwide. The company has over 250 man years of experience supporting educational robotics programs and extensive engineering resources on two continents dedicated to the VEX Robotics platform. For more information on the VEX Robotics Design System, visit vexrobotics.com.

###

VEX World Championship Winners PR Release

Posted in Robot Competitions | Comments Off

Boy Scouts unveil robotics merit badge

Friday, April 15th, 2011
Missing Attachment

In keeping up with the times and recognizing the importance of STEM, the Boy Scouts of America is recently unveiled a newly minted robotics merit badge to add to the more than 120 badges the organization already offers.

And the new badge is expected to be a hit with scouts eager for a robotics education. According to the Associated Press, at least 10,000 of the nation's 2.7 million Boy Scouts are expected to earn the badge in the next year.

"Last century, camping was an essential survival skill. Sometimes, you might have had to live outside in the 1900s to survive. We view STEM as an essential survival skill in the 21st century. We're just trying to keep relevant with what kids need to learn," Matt Myers, who oversees the Boy Scouts' STEM efforts, told the Associated Press.

To earn the new robotics badge, Boy Scouts will have to use a robotics kit to build a robot, while also learning about robot movement, sensors and programming.

The robotics badge is the fourth that the 101-year-old organization has introduced in the past five years, with the next most recent being the inventing badge, unveiled last June.

Posted in Robot Competitions, Robotics Industry News | Comments Off

Pennsylvania students ready for Exploration Day

Thursday, April 14th, 2011
Missing Attachment

Students from across the state of Pennsylvania are prepped for a trip to the Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State University in State College for Exploration Day 2011, according to the Centre Daily Times.

About 200 students in kindergarten through high school were expected to attend the event, with lessons including robotics, astronomy, biology, physics and more. Penn State faculty and volunteers were slated to teach STEM principles through hands-on demonstrations, the newspaper reported.

The event began as Space Day in 2003, and has since expanded to include other areas of STEM education. It is sponsored by the NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium, the Penn State Astrobiology Research Center and the Penn State Eberly College of Science Outreach Office.

Students in Washington recently enjoyed a similar event, Math Day, at the University of Washington in Seattle. There, students engaged in discussion on topics that included the importance of robotics education, in hopes of inspiring them to pursue a career in a STEM field. In February, the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington held a robotics open house for high school students.

Posted in Robot Competitions, Robotics in Education, Robotics Industry News | Comments Off

Grant makes robotics education possible at Massachusetts school

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
Missing Attachment

The Van Sickle Middle School in Springfield, Massachusetts, will hold a six-week robotics education program this summer thanks to a grant the school was recently awarded, according to the Republican newspaper.

The $123,000 grant is expected to fully fund the program, which should be attended by 450 students from numerous area schools, according to the newspaper. Paula Thayer, Springfield's assistant director of recreation, helped the city secure the grant by a proposal.

"We salute Thayer and the planning team for the grant proposal," stated an anonymous editorial appearing in the Republican. "We can't think of a better way for kids to spend part of their summers."

Other organizations that helped to secure the grant include the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Springfield College, Tufts University and Van Sickle Elementary principal Cheryl DeSpirt, a district science specialist, among others, according to the newspaper.

Students in Oak Park, California, won't have to wait for summer to enjoy a special robotics education program, as Robotics & Things is planning to host a three-day event during spring vacation. There, children will learn science, technology, engineering and math concepts through individual and team-based activities.

Posted in Robot Competitions, Robotics in Education, Robotics Industry News | Comments Off

VEX ROBOTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POWERS UP AT WALT DISNEY WORLD’S ESPN WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS COMPLEX ON APRIL 14-16, 2011

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Academics Take Center Stage as Thousands of Students Unite to Compete in the World’s Largest Robotics Movement

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – April 12, 2011 – Celebrating National Robotics Week, nearly 10,000 middle school, high school and university participants from 16 countries around the world will compete in the action-packed 2011 VEX Robotics World Championship, to be held with free admission to the general public at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World® Resort near Orlando, Florida on April 14-16, 2011. Giving the event mainstream recognition similar to that of an international sporting event, the Boy Scouts of America will be in attendance along with Congressman Ralph Hall. Talent from The Discovery Channel’s MYTHBUSTERS series and host of The Science Channel’s hit show HEAD RUSH, Kari Byron, will serve as master of ceremonies to guide teams and spectators through the final award ceremony on the last day of competition.

“We are excited to welcome our distinguished guests and premier event partners including Autodesk, NASA and EMC Corporation into Disney’s impressive global arena as we join together in celebrating the accomplishments of these powerful young minds,” said Jason Morrella, president of the REC Foundation. “The magnitude of attendees at this year’s event speaks to the strength of the VEX Robotics Competition as a perfect model for educational robotics and workforce development. There are now over 100,000 students using VEX Robotics worldwide, showing the empowering effect it is having on participating schools, students and the international community.”

The VEX Robotics program is in support of The White House’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) initiative to get kids engaged in higher learning, and recently received attention from President Obama who visited a Miami Central High School classroom where he interacted with students excelling in STEM education through VEX Robotics. To show his support at the World Championship, Congressman Ralph Hall, senior member of the US House of Representatives and chair of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology – which funds NASA and the National Science Foundation – will cheer teams on, alongside other keynote attendees including Mele Williams, staff director of the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education; executives from Boy Scouts of America; and, of course, Mickey Mouse and friends.

As the fastest growing robotics program in the world, the VEX Robotics Competition is organized by the REC Foundation, and the 2011 VEX Robotics World Championship serves as the final event of the 2010- 2011 competition season. This year, almost 600 out of the nearly 4,000 VEX Robotics Competition teams have earned the right to bring their robotic masterpieces to the “Happiest Place on Earth” where they will form strategic alliances with other teams and challenge their toughest competitors playing the game Round Up. All attending teams qualified for the tournament after dedicating countless hours to honing their building, programming and strategy skill sets to outperform others in order to reach the international stage.

In addition to the middle and high school VEX Robotics Competitions, the 2011 VEX Robotics World Championship will put 35 university teams in the spotlight as they strive for the VEX Robotics College Challenge World Champion title. The BEST Robotics Competition National Championship will take place in the Jostens Center, and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy AROW water robotics competition will be heldat Champion Stadium. Boy Scouts of America will host a booth on Saturday, April 16, to showcase the new Robotics Merit Badge, and more than 20 scouts will be in attendance, aiming to be some of the first to complete the robotics merit badge requirements and receive the newly debuted badge from scout executives during the final award ceremony Saturday afternoon.

Partners and sponsors of the 2011 VEX Robotics Competition World Championship include Autodesk, NASA, EMC Corporation, Intelitek, Innovation First International, iD Tech Camps, the REC Foundation, Automation Direct, Northrop Grumman, Microchip, the United States Coast Guard Academy, and the Robotics Academy at Carnegie Mellon University.

Round Up, the 2010-2011 VEX Robotics Competition Game, is played on a 12’x12’ square field where two alliances composed of two teams each compete against one another. Each match consists of a twenty-second autonomous period where robots are controlled by onboard software, followed by two minutes of human-operated play. Fans can follow the competition and sign up for real-time competition news and results via live streamcasts, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube updates. For more information visit RobotEvents.com/championship.

About REC Foundation

The REC Foundation, standing for Robotics Education and Competition, is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, supports robotics and technology events and programs that aim to inspire and motivate students to advance in STEM education. In addition to supporting competitions for some of the world’s leading robotics platforms and organizations including VEX, TSA, BOTBALL and BEST, the foundation also provides program support and workshops focused on technology and professional development for educators – including the RobotEvents.com community portal website which helps promote multiple high quality programs and provides online registration and event pages for hundreds of events around the world.

About VEX Robotics and Innovation First International

VEX Robotics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Innovation First International, is a leading provider of educational robotics products to middle schools, high schools and colleges around the world. The VEX Robotics Design System, winner of the 2006 Best of Innovations Award at CES, was built from the ground up and designed to be an affordable, accessible and scalable platform used to teach science, technology, engineering and math education worldwide. The company has over 250 man years of experience supporting educational robotics programs and extensive engineering resources on two continents dedicated to the VEX Robotics platform. For more information on the VEX Robotics Design System, visit VEXRobotics.com.

###

VEX World Champs Kick Off Press Release


 

Posted in Robot Competitions | Comments Off

« Older Entries