Tuesday, 21 February 2017 20:47 GMT By Stephany Nunneley

If Doomfist isnt the next Overwatch hero, maybe 11-year-old robotics prodigy Efi Oladele can provide us with some sort of hint.

In the latest blog entry on the Overwatch website, an in-universe interview with Numbani native Efi Oladele has been posted.

According to the post (thanks PC Gamer), Efi Oladele won a genius grant from the Adawe Foundation for her work in artificial intelligence and robotics.

In the interview, Efi discusses how she became obsessed with creating small drones after receiving her first robotics kit. In the future, her goal is to build something that can keep us safe, like the new OR15, and as far as how shes going to use the grant money, its secret for now, but she is taking a trip to celebrate her achievement first. And it will be her first time flying. We can only assume she will fly somewhere outside if the current Numbani locations in the game, but you never know with Blizzard.

Also, what is the OR15? Speculation is running all over the place on that end, but one interesting theory pointed out by reddit user andygb4 is rather intriguing.

As he points out, the third Doomfist in the poster which was shown in the original Overwatch cinematic has Omnic text underneath instead of the normal font on the other two.

Maybe she builds a robot that eventually becomes Doomfist?, he suggests.

If you arent familiar with Overwtach lore, an Omnic is a type of robot with artificial intelligence both are subjects Efi seems to have plenty of knowledge on. Omnics were originally designed and built by humans, mostly notably the Omnica Corporation, to serve the economy. Eventually, the Omnic Crisis occurred when the machines became infected by God Programs, developed militarized Omnics of themselves and started attacking humans (see Overwatch wiki link above).

Numbani, where Efi lives, is one of the few places in the Overwatch universe where omnics and humans live in harmony and equality. Formed after the Omnic Crisis, its one of the worlds greatest and most technologically advanced cities. This is also where as part the Unity Day festivities, the gauntlet of Doomfist is exhibited at the Numbani Heritage Museum.

So. Even though the 24th hero coming to Overwatch is apparently not Doomfist, unless Blizzard is messing with us, its quite possible Efi may have something to do with his story, or will possibly introduce some sort of new Omnic hero into the game. Or, she could transform into a hero or even be the hero. Only Blizzard knows.

Were just speculating on all of this obviously. Hopefully, well know more soon.

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Overwatch in-universe interview with robotics genius Efi Oladele may provide hints to next hero - VG247

Every detail -- the latex skin, the mat of baby black hair -- seemed as realistic as a Ron Mueck sculpture. The left arm rose slowly, the mouth half-open, the eyelids flickering into a squint. I studied it intensely, half expecting a response -- a cry, a gurgle -- but without any desire to rescue the baby from the wall and cradle it. Side on, it was unmistakably a machine. An umbilical cord of shiny metal tubing fed into its spine.

"Robots" is as much about culture as it is about science. It answers a deceptively simple question that has been pondered for the last 500 years: How do we design robots we can happily interact with?

The question has become increasingly topical as humanoid robots multiply in the lab, with some likely to end up in our homes, schools, universities and clinics, as well as theme parks and museums.

Curator Ben Russell spent five years assembling over 100 humanoid robots for this show. He's tracked down historic robots and automata and along the way, and managed to salvage a few of them. (One was made out of central heating components, another out of scrap metal and found rusting outside.)

"We like to anthropomorphize. We are the only species who do. We like to invent objects like us," he says of the humanoids on display.

In 1970, a Japanese robotics researcher named Masahiro Mori posited a complex phenomenon known as the uncanny valley. His basic theory was that we respond positively to a robot as it becomes more human in look but only up to a certain point. And then suddenly, we are strongly repelled by it.

"Robots can reach a point where they become too much like us, are too corpse-like and creepy," Russell says.

The robot appears nearly human, but not quite right. It induces the discomfort of being close to something that is ill, and reminds us of our own mortality.

Contemporary robot designers seem to have responded to this challenge in different ways.

The trumpet playing robot, Harry (2005), made by the Toyota car company, is plainly a white silicon humanoid robot but without any real facial features. He exists to entertain just like one of the old toy automata, and can play tunes like "What a Wonderful World."

One of Russell's favorite exhibits, Eccerobot (2009), was more realistic, with a design based on the 19th century medical textbook "Gray's Anatomy."

It's human in shape, but without any kind of skin or proper face. All the innards are exposed and mimic the inner mechanics of the human body. Motors, cord, kite line and polymorph are substituted for muscles, tendons, joints and bones.

(I did find it humanly sympathetic in one respect: Eccerobot regularly seizes up with backache and has to be rested overnight.)

Russell introduced a Japanese communication robot called Kodomoroid as "one of the freakiest robots in the show."

I didn't disagree. With a helmet of black hair (almost a Mary Quant bob) and dressed immaculately in white smock and ballet flats, she seemed unnervingly real and yet also like a shop mannequin come to life. As with the animatronic baby, I examined her intensely. She too wasn't quite right.

Her job, back in Japan, is to read the daily news at the National Science Museum.

According to Russell, the Japanese have embraced robots culturally more than any other country. In fact, about a third of the robots in the exhibition are from Japan.

Russell draws a connection with Japan's dominant Shinto faith, in which there is no large between humans and inanimate objects. The sun, the moon, mountains and tree all have their own spirits or souls.

Telenoid (2013), developed at Osaka University, is a communication robot, glistening white and bald with tapering limbs devoid of hands and feet. A child, operating it remotely by computer, can use it to communicate with someone in another country.

The claim is that Telenoid reproduces in a physical form the child's movements and personality, as well as the voice. In trials, people have apparently been happy to talk to and cuddle the robot. They speak of the warmth of feeling in Telenoid's eyes.

Conversely, robots are often seen as a threat in the West, and we're still trying to overcome our suspicions.

Even the origin of the term "robot" was a bit sinister: It first entered the lexicon in 1921 via a dystopian play, "R.U.R.," by Czech writer Karel Capek. (R.U.R stands for Rossum's Universal Robots.)

The drama was set in a factory manufacturing humanoid robots from synthetic organic material. The robots rebel and wipe out the human race.

However, American robotics designer David Hanson has chosen not to worry about unnerving us and is already designing robots of uncanny realism with artificial intelligence and empathy, facial expression and the ability to chat. I was disappointed not to meet one; Hanson's robots aren't on display at the Science Museum.

"In the not-too-distant future, Genius Machines will walk among us. They will be smart, kind, and wise," it reads on his website. "Together, man and machine will create a better future for the world."

We shall see.

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What the faces of our robots tell us about ourselves - CNN

THE CHATHAMS In only its second year, the advanced robotics class at Chatham High School is sending two teams to compete in a state championship tournament Sunday, Feb. 26.

The rookie team, //Cougars, and Chatham Cougars, which was formed last year, will go up against 46 other teams at the state level of the FIRST Tech Challenge. FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, a nonprofit organization that runs several competitions and provides college scholarships.

Julianna Ryan, who teaches advanced robotics and coaches the teams, said about 160 teams competed statewide this year, compared with about 110 last year. Its growing immensely.

Winners of the state tournament will go on to a super-regional tournament in March, which will be followed by the world championship tournament in April in St. Louis.

Ryan said the class is set up like marching band and chorus, so students could take it as sophomores, juniors and seniors. Freshmen take introductory robotics. Students who cant fit the class into their schedule may stay involved as a club member, participating during their lunch break or after school.

The advanced robotics class is meant to be much more student-driven, Ryan said. Theyre brainstorming, working together, and Im ... micromanaging their time management, keeping them on task. Then when they run into errors, Im able to step in and we have discussions on whatever it might be.

Theyre all working on different things simultaneously to come together to build a really powerhouse team.

The teams build their robots from a bunch of aluminum parts, screws, and nuts and bolts without directions. While all the robots are the size of an 18-inch cube, teams design different parts to fold out to handle various tasks. The Chatham teams have benefited from use of a 3D printer that allows them to make parts for the robots as they design them.

Last year, our robot was rebuilt time and time again, Ryan said. It was a building year. We didnt really know what we were doing as a whole.

This year, there was a lot more planning in the beginning so students have made changes but have not broken the robots down entirely. This year, there has been a lot of growth in their design process.

Six students enrolled in advanced robotics in its inaugural year; 17 are taking the class this year, including three who took it last year. Teams can have no more than 15 members, so the class formed two teams.

The fall semester is dedicated to the FIRST Tech Challenge; in the spring, students will work with drones and other devices, including a prosthetic hand.

Tony Tesoriero, a junior from Chatham Township, called the advanced robotics class "awesome." "Before, there was nothing that combined all these awesome robotics stuff, almost every single type of engineering - mechanical, electrical, software - even management stuff. There's a lot of computer tasks too," such as computer-aided design, he said.

Catarina DeMatos, a senior from Chatham Township, said she has learned many skills besides programming and engineering in the class, including communication, presentation, technical writing and business skills.

"The class itself is a lot of fun because you learn different things every year because the game changes every year," said DeMatos, who also took advanced robotics as a junior and competed on an independent team as a sophomore.

Last year, the Chatham Cougars team was one place away from qualifying for the state tournament. They did really well, but this year, theres been immense growth, Ryan said.

During the fall, the teams attended three weekend meets called scrimmages where they were ranked. They also went to one or two qualifying tournaments; winners of those go to the state tournament. Some teams advance to states based on their scrimmage rankings.

Chatham Cougars qualified for the state tournament by being named second runnerup for the Inspire Award at the December qualifying tournament in Livingston. Winners and runnersup for the Inspire Award qualify for states, Ryan said.

The Inspire Award is the best thing you can get there. It says not only is your robot great but youre doing a really good job with your engineering notebook, with your problem-solving, with your connections to the community.

//Cougars qualified by winning the Northwest League Tournament, open to teams from Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, after just missing out at two qualifying tournaments. At the league tournament, the team was undefeated in nine matches and was first runnerup for the Inspire Award.

During a tournament, four teams compete at once in a match, with two teams as the red alliance and two as the blue alliance.

During a 30-second autonomous period, the robots complete a series of tasks, such as shooting a wiffle ball into a basket and pushing a button that matches the alliance color. Those tasks have been preprogrammed by the team.

The autonomous period is followed by two minutes when a team member drives the robot using a game controller. The robot works with its alliance partner to score as many points as possible.

At a tournament, teams compete in five matches, then the field is narrowed to semifinals, then finals.

Its very much like a sports team. Its just robots competing rather than people, Ryan said.

It actually gets very intense, with people cheering on the robots, she added.

Catarina, a member of the Chatham Cougars team, said she is excited about competing at states and is looking forward to seeing what other schools' teams have done with their robots.

Tony, who went to states last year with an independent team, said it was a scary experience. "It's huge. It's pretty much every single good team that you see at your previous matches all at one competition."

WhenCatarina tells other students about advanced robotics, she urges them to give it a try. "It's not just a bunch of nerds hunched over a computer ... it's fun," she said.

If students are not interested in the engineering and programming aspects, "there's so much more that goes into this competition," noting that she just created a video for states. Others are making posters or doing 3D modeling on computers.

In addition to building, programming and operating the robots, the teams compile an engineering notebook; do community service projects, such as providing tech help to senior citizens; and go out into the community to find financial sponsors and to promote robotics.

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Two high school robotics teams headed to statewide contest - New Jersey Hills

Posted: Feb. 20, 2017 2:30 pm

At a central New Jersey regional robotics and engineering competition held at East Brunswick High School, the Sparta Robotic Engineering teams performed well with three sub teams qualifying for the state championships to be held at Cherry Hill High School on March 4. The teams each won passage to the states by their combined performance in two areas: programming skills and driver-controlled skills.

The Sparta team 5249A, led by Conor Smetana, is currently ranked fifth in the state. Other members of 5249A include Hailey Koerner, Luke Kurian and Lucie Wolfson. The Sparta team 5249C, led by Evan Marcino and Julia Lopez, ranked 11th in the state. Other members of 5249C include Alexandra Poret, Julia Muth, Sam Roscoe, Alan Yeung, Ryan McQillan and Brendan Brusberg.

The Sparta team 5249E, led by Thiago Santos and Emmet Sedar, is ranked 17th in the state. Other members include Zach Herbert. Earlier in the season this team won both an Innovation award and a build award.

Sparta was also recognized by receiving what is called an "Amaze Award."

The Sparta team of 5249D led by Jack Willamson and co-led by Sarah Ramos received this award. The Amaze award is presented to a team that has built a competition robot that clearly demonstrates overall quality and solid mechanical design, key attributes assessed for this award. Other members of 5249D are Erich Schwarzrock, Grace Masterson, Nicole Kwok, Soumya Duggirala.

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Sparta Robotics teams head to state championship - New Jersey Herald

After six long weeks of planning, constructing and testing, Pitt Countys robotics teams are ready to battle teams from across North Carolina for robot supremacy.

Local students joined parents, teachers and mentors on Monday night at C.M. Eppes Middle School to introduce the robots they will send into the FIRST Robotics STEAMWORKScompetition next month. Gemini will run the gauntlet for the veteran Pitt Pirates team. Gearitation will duke it out for a Boneyard Robotics team in its third year.

We are excited this year, said Ann McClung, a former teacher at South Central High School and now the science coordinator at the Center for STEM Education at East Carolina University.This is our first year hosting the district competition.

The two Pitt teams will compete against about 30 other teams during the district competition March 4-5 at South Central High School. Winning teams advance to the state level of competition.

Pitt County Robotics, in its 10th year, is part of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition. FIRST, which began in 1989, is an international program with a goal of inspiring young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

We have a great interest locally, McClung said. Once people get involved ... they are hooked.

McClung said getting a robot ready for competition takes a partnership among students, parents, mentors and sponsors.

The students work with mentors from various disciplines, she said. We have engineers, tech support people and electricians. But we also have people from other disciplines like marketing ... its a team effort.

Teams get just six weeks from the time the concept is revealed to completion of a robot. After that, it is bagged up so no modifications can be made before competition.

After the unveiling ... the robots are put away until the competition, McClung said.Its amazing what these teams do in six weeks.

In STEAMWORKS, robots must capture fuel, deliver gears to their teams and then climb a rope before the airship takes flight.

This year has a Steampunk theme, McClung said.I think this is the coolest theme yet for this competition.

McClung said that she would like to see more teams compete next year, but the program needs more mentors and sponsors.

There are a lot of kids interested in getting involved, but we need more mentors in order to get more teams, she said. I encourage anyone that might be interested in getting involved to come out to the competition in March. ... That is all it will take for them to get hooked.

For more information about theFIRST Robotics program or the competition in March, call McClung at 252-258-3974.

Contact Shannon Keith at skeith@reflector.comor at 252-329-9579.

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Robots revealed: Gemini, Gearitation ready to battle - Greenville Daily Reflector

Monday was a special day for members of the Lockport High School robotics team.

For the last six weeks, the 38 students and 27 adult mentors on the robotics team have been working more than 40 hour weeks to design, program and construct a robot that will compete in the FIRST robotics competition.

On Monday, the robotics team, dubbed Warlocks 1507, unveiled its practice robot and performed a practice run.

"I'm genuinely proud of the work we've done," said junior Keirstan Farina, who was nominated for the FIRST Tech Challenge dean's list, as was student Nate Brick.

This year's challenge, called Steamworks, has teams compete in a simulated "airship race" in the tradition of steampunk a subgenre that incorporates technological and aesthetic designs of 19th-century industrial, steam-powered machinery.

The robot must collect "fuel" by gathering and firing balls into a nine-foot-tall, two-foot-wide basket and "install" gears by picking up and depositing large, lightweight gears. Once players have collected enough gears, they can begin turning their "ship's rotors."

At the end of the match, the players have the robots climb "aboard" the ship by ascending a rope.

During Tuesday's run, the Warlocks machine a two-foot-by-two-foot square box, painted blue and made mostly with aluminum succeeded in picking up and dropping off gears, and in climbing a rope fastened to a basketball net in the high school gymnasium. None of the balls it fired made the basket, but the team's programmers are working on that.

Three other, local FIRST robotics teams "The Circuit Stompers" of Newfane High School, "The Electric Mayhem" of Nichols High School and "Alumboti" of St. Joseph Collegiate Institute were invited, but none were able to attend on time; some needed additional time to work on their robots.

Robotics Team president Jim Rogowski said that the robotics team is about much more than building robots. It also does community service work and its primary focus is on teaching students engineering skills.

"It's a community based on kids learning real STEM technology," Rogowski said. "We're teaching kids how to do engineering."

After the competition's kick-off, Rogowski had the robotics team students break into different groups to brainstorm ideas. The groups then reconvene and selected the best ones; often they will combine the best ideas from various groups.

Then the team breaks up again into smaller teams, each with its own area of expertise: the computer-aided design team, the programming team, the electrical team, the build team, the website team and the public relations and award application team.

Together, over six weeks of long nights and all-day Saturday work marathons, the teams crafted the robot almost entirely from scratch. Almost every part except the motors and wheels were either constructed in the high school's shop or printed in a 3D printer.

"At first you can't fathom it's going to happen. When you get to this point, you can't believe we did this, we designed this, we put this together," Farina said.

Although, technically, they put it together twice. The Warlocks built their final robot, which they will use in the regional competition at Rochester Institute of Technology from March 16 to 18, and a practice one, which they used Monday.

Rokowski explained that once they have to submit their final robot, that's it. It's gone for about three weeks before the regional competition. Hence, the need for a robot that students can practice with until then.

"If our kids just sit around, they don't get an understanding of how to operate the robot," Rogowski said.

Should the Warlocks succeed at the regional match at RIT, they will go on to compete in the championships in St. Louis in late April.

Team members are excited for the opportunity. But it's more a labor of love and education than a quest to win.

"It's something I fell in love with. It helped me find what I want to do in life," said Farina, who plans to go into bio-engineering.

"We're the biggest family you could ever meet," she added.

Before the practice run, students and mentors heard from Mary Ward-Schiffert, chairwoman of UAW Local 686, and William Tiger, plant manager of the Lockport GM plant. Both GM and UAW sponsor the robotics team.

Tiger praised the FIRST robotics program for teaching engineering and STEM skills to the next generation.

"I feel good that the future is in your hands," Tiger said. "You're a lot further along than I was at that age."

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Lockport robotics team unveils creation - Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

DECATUR Jack Kramer knows he wants to be an engineer when he grows up, though he hasn't settled on an area of specialty yet.

I think it's important for us to encourage people to support FIRST because it provides opportunities for engineering and to have jobs (in the future) and that's what people in this area want. They want jobs, he said.

The Dennis School student is involved in FIRST Lego League, and members of the Decatur teams who advanced to state competition visited Caterpillar Inc. to demonstrate their robots for the employees. CAT engineers advise students in Lego League, although the focus is on students doing all the work themselves.

I show you how to do it, said Joe Kunzeman, one of the engineers who has been involved with Lego League, along with his wife, Sue, for six years. Then you work with me and we do it together. Then you do it while I watch you. Then you do it alone.

Those four steps, he said, ensure that students can do the work themselves and really understand what they're doing.

Younger students build robots out of Legos and program them to do specific tasks on a game board. They can't touch their robots once they begin competition. High school students' robots are much larger and the tasks they're assigned more complicated, but they can use a controller, that is something like you'd use to play a video game, said Clare McCormack, one of the Zip Tie Fighters coached by Kunzeman. She's a student at St. Teresa High School.

They're all sponsored by CAT and we volunteer, said Alston Pike. We're more like coaches. Our role is to kind of guide them along.

Depending on the team, the engineers might meet with the team once or twice a week or more, Pike said.

They're here to demonstrate for the staff what it is they're supporting, said Glenn Shaffer, who's the faculty adviser for the Thomas Jefferson Middle School team. It's a lot of man-hours and it's financial support. It's good for the kids to get out and demonstrate what they do.

Most of the students who participate in robotics will end up becoming engineers, said Thomas Jefferson eighth-grader Dalton Hiser, and visiting CAT is a good way for them to see where they might work someday. Working closely with CAT engineers on their robots gives them an example of someone who's already working in the field, too.

Caterpillar was nice enough to invite us, Dalton said. And they don't really know much about what we really do. This is kind of (students') baby steps into what they're going to do in the real world.

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Decatur robotics teams bring their work to CAT - Herald & Review

PUHI Not many students would be anywhere near their high school campus on a teachers work day, but there arent many kids as dedicated to putting in hard work like the Island School Robotics team on Friday.

(These students) are outstanding, said James Massaro, retired teacher and leader of the robotics team. This is the best group of students that weve ever had. They designed it, they built it.

From stripping last years robot to recycle the same gears and pieces for this years competition, Island Schools robotics team has spent a lot of time over the last couple of months outside of school to get this robot ready for the Kauaibots season.

Some students havent had a free weekend since December.

I have worked 153 hours on this robot. All four years Ive been here, Ive worked over 250 hours each year on this, said Elizabeth Makizuru, a senior at Kauai High School.

Island Schools robotics team includes students from other campuses such as Kauai High, Kapaa High, Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle, St. Catherine and five home-schooled students.

Working after school and on weekends to complete the robot, the team featuring seven seniors and a few underclassmen is almost ready for competition on Oahu and San Diego.

Were in final assembly at this point, Massaro said. Weve tested all the individual components and they all work, but we just have to make sure that everything will work together now.

Early next month, eight students and 14 members will head to the first competition site in San Diego while the entire team, 26 students, will go to Oahu later in March for the Hawaii regional competition at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

The students are able to travel to both competitions because of a $15,000 donation from Aloha Angels.

We are impressed by the challenging nature of the project, and by the dedication of the students and adult volunteers, especially that it is student-driven this year, said Aloha Angels President Ric Cox.

Cox said Aloha Angels has been stepping-up efforts to support science, technology, engineering and math programs at the request of educators.

But before the students can focus on competing, finishing touches have to be made on the robot.

Makizuru and two of her teammates, Tyres Caberto and Nygel Melchor, have fun despite the amount of work that needs to be done in order to compete at a high level.

Melchor, a Kauai High senior, said making this robot has been challenging for more than just technological difficulties. Operator error has also been an obstacle hes had to overcome.

It was kinda hard because my fingers and Tyres fingers are too fat so we couldnt get the gears inside, he said.

Because of their self-proclaimed chubby fingers a name that the trio said is now being tossed around as the official name of the robot the team has had to rely on Makizuru, team captain, to pick up the slack and install the gears, all while mentoring the underclassmen on the team.

Its definitely gotten easier over time. My freshman year was really challenging, Makizuru said. But this year has been pretty easy in my opinion. Its just a little harder since we have to teach the younger generation, and transitioning from a student to mentor has been difficult.

The team will be performing and practicing with the robot for the public at Kukui Grove Center on Saturday, March 4, from 1 to 3 p.m.

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School robotics team ready for major competitions - Thegardenisland.com

European Robotics Week 2016. Credits: Visual Outcasts

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is a collection of short stories by American writer Raymond Carver. In his collection, he doesnt provide a direct definition of love but instead lets the perception of the natureof love form in the minds of the reader through narrating a series of short stories.

This idea of perception leads me to my point. In myprevious post, I highlighted the widespread reproducibility issues still haunting robotics research. These issues need to be fixed if we want to talk about Robotics as a science. Like what the new journal Science Robotics aims to do. However there are still other issues to consider: what exactly is Robotics about? What does it mean when its said, you will never be able to do that within the mechatronic paradigm? Is there a kind of robotics thermodynamics? What can be done? What cant, for fundamental reasons, be done with a given approach/class of physical systems?

Areal roboticist (even in academia) might be tempted to dismiss those question as typical intellectual speculations.

There was a recent article in New Scientist about Londons Science Museums Robots called,who is really pulling the strings? If you focus solely on the perception of disappointment, after reading thearticle, you might be led to think, as I do, that we need a paradigm change. And you may understand the objectives and concerns of some not-so-mainstream communities in AI and Robotics, for example, those gathering around the Shanghai Lectures (2016 edition here). Unfortunately, its easier said than done.

I will come back on this again. Stay tuned!

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What we talk about when we talk about robotics - Robohub

MARTINSVILLEFor the 14th year in a row, local Piedmont Governors School students will compete in district competitions with a special guest a robot.

Piedmont Governors School Director Brian Pace hopes that this years robot, STAGS, which stands for Science, Technology and Gifted Students, will make it all the way to the final stage of the global FIRST Robotics competition, held annually in St. Louis, Missouri.

Ill be the first to tell you, Im very competitive, Pace said. We would love to do well. We like to win competitions when we go. Were happy with what weve put together. Wed like to finish first, but its not the end of the world if we dont.

Confident about their product, Team 1262 showcased STAGS to the public on Monday evening.

Guests learned about the groups history, about the upcoming competition and saw the robot in action.

The more we do it, hopefully the better we get, Pace said about making the functional object.

Each year, FIRST Robotics comes up with a new game in which a robot must compete.

Its totally different things you have to accomplish, Pace said. Its always different. You cant take the robot you made last year and tweak it a little bit.

There are several actions STAGS must successfully complete in order to move on to various rounds of the competition.

The robot has to pick things up off of the ground, hang some things on a peg and collect things, Pace said. For the first time, itll have to climb a rope. Itll go 410.

A first of its kind for the Martinsville group, STAGS climbs a rope 4'10" in the air

Seeing the robot in action is fun, but crafting a functional piece takes time and trouble shooting.

We use what were teaching. Were using math, science and technology to build this robot, Pace said.

Theres a strict time limit FIRST Robotics teams must follow. From the moment they receive instructions on actions the robot must perform, they have six weeks to construct a working piece.

This year, the Martinsville group received word the weekend the snowstorm hit in January, which affected their timeline.

We werent able to go out and get supplies right away, Pace said.

When school resumed later that week, Team 1262 got to work.

Youve got to figure out how you want to design it, build it and test it, Pace said. We try to spend the first week getting everyone together and discussing what we want it to do and how we want it to do it.

Even though copious amounts of planning go into the project, the final piece hardly ever resembles the first draft on paper.

Its just like real life. You problem solve, you collaborate. You expect it to go right and then everything goes wrong, Pace said.

While the director said he could give his students formulas and problems to solve all day long, the hands-on approach gives them real-world experience by working as a team to solve an issue.

You tweak it and you deal with problems, Pace said.

Nicholas Turner, a student on the team, helped tweak the robots drive system. STAGS started out with two sets of omniwheels and one treadwheel. However, the original design did not work the way the team hoped.

We collaborated in the lab and brainstormed ideas, Turner said.

The group ended up with two treadwheels and a set of omniwheels.

It gave us more traction on the ground, Turner said.

Throughout the process, students take on various leadership roles.

We give students the opportunity to be the drivers, Pace said.

If something goes awry, its up to the students to figure out why.

We ask them, What if this happened? What if this broke? Pace said.

Adam Wilson spoke of one mishap, which the team corrected.

Sort of the shooter mechanism showed inconsistencies, Wilson said. We found the correct angle and made sort of a backboard.

Spectators oohed and aahed as STAGS made his way through an obstacle course.

James Morrison, who came with his family to support his granddaughter, Victoria Pritchett, raved about the students skills.

Its a nice job, a very good job, Morrison said. Its very interesting.

About the size of a miniature refrigerator, STAGS is ready to make his debut at his first competition next weekend, March 4 and 5.

About the robotics program as a whole, Pace said, Were not saying were creating engineers, but were giving them a taste for it.

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Going For Gold: Students compete in robotics challenge - Martinsville Bulletin

The 2017 Heartland Regional Robotics Championship was held Friday and Saturday at Omaha North High School.

Winners include:

Eventwide awards

Energy Award: Brobotz and Roarbotics of Clear Lake Robotics Club in Clear Lake, Iowa

Sportsmanship Award: Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School

Open tournaments

Honor award: Nerd Herd of Omaha North

Tournament Champion (three-team alliance): Robo Raiders and Nerd Herd of Omaha North, and Aurora Robotic Huskies of Aurora, Nebraska

Tournament Finalist (three-team alliance): MW Wildwest of Millard West, and Perfectly Flawed and Enginerds of Omaha North

Design Award: MW Wildwest of Millard West

Skills Champion: Nerd Herd of Omaha North

Skills Finalist: Perfectly Flawed of Omaha North

VRC High School Division Awards

Excellence Award: Legion of Doom of Benson

Tournament Champion (three-team alliance): Legion of Doom of Benson, TechnaPwn of TechnaPwn Robotics Club in Council Bluffs, and Darth Jar Jar of Millard South

Tournament Finalist (three-team alliance): Fuzzy Wuzzy 2.0 of Douglas County West, SV Wall Hacks of Brownell-Talbot and OPS Eagle Strike of Omaha Central

Design Award: TechnaPwn of TechnaPwn Robotics Club in Council Bluffs

Skills Champions: Knight Shift of Mount Michael

Skills Finalist: Fuzzy Wuzzy 2.0 of Douglas County West

Think Award: Fuzzy Wuzzy 2.0 of Douglas County West

VRC Middle School Division Awards

Excellence Award: Robohawks of Mary Our Queen Catholic School

Tournament Champion (three-team alliance): Bastion, Ork-estra and Always Watching of Brownell-Talbot

Tournament Finalist (three-team alliance): Random Bits of Gross Catholic, OPL-Millard A of the Omaha Public Library Millard Branch, and Jaegers of Cavalry Robotics in Weston, Nebraska

Design Award: Trojans of Marrs Middle School

Skills Champion: Bastion of Brownell-Talbot

Skills Finalist: Falcon Mobil of Douglas County West

Think Award: Bastion of Brownell-Talbot

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Ingenuity, skill earn honors for students at Heartland Regional Robotics Championship - Omaha World-Herald

In its first match, Crescent Valley High Schools robot had pieces falling off one wheel because it hadnt been properly screwed together.

Later, the robotics team from South and West Albany high schools had trouble going straight in its first scrimmage because the students forgot to reset a gyroscope after moving it onto the field.

But students on both teams said they were actually glad to find the problems so they could fix them before the competition season for FIRST Robotics starts officially.

Learning moments like this took place frequently Saturday at a robotics pre-season scrimmage at Corvallis High School, which was attended by 25 teams from across the Pacific Northwest. Organizers say the event, held annually in Corvallis, gave students a chance to get practice playing this years game for the first time and shake out problems with their robots, which they have been hastily building over the last nearly six weeks.

Matthew Sundberg, captain of the Crescent Valley team, said he was glad for the scrimmage because it gave the team a chance to find problems like the improperly assembled wheel.

But he said the team also realized how important it will be to put cameras on the robot that send video feed to the teams drivers, because the field is large and had enough obstacles the drivers couldnt always see where the robot was.

We learned a lot about how helpful vision will be, said Sundberg, a senior

Eric Sisson, a senior on the combined team from the Albany high schools, said the takeaway from their first match was to make sure the robots gyroscope is reset after it is moved.

The first (match) is always rough, he said.

Sisson is the lead scout for his team and added that the event is also valuable because he gets to see other robots in action, which may affect which robots they try to form alliances with in the upcoming competitions. The game allows robots to score points by collecting wiffle balls and throwing them into a hopper, collecting gears from the ground and placing them on a peg or by climbing a rope.

Sisson said the robots compete on teams of three, so its valuable to see which robots might have complementary abilities for their robot, which specializes in picking up gears and placing them on pegs and climbing the rope.

Oh my gosh, Ive learned so much, he said. Every year I think, Why didnt we do that?

Daniel Arthurs, a member of Philomath High Schools team, said at last years scrimmage the team didnt have its robot functional until the scrimmage was mostly over, but this year they were mostly ready at the start, so the team was happy it would get more practice time this year.

Were feeling a lot better about where we are at, he said. The Philomath robot is also specialized to collect gears and climb, Arthurs said.

Arthurs, a sophomore, said he likes robotics competitions because of how much hes learned through participating in them.

It gives you a lot of career choices, he said.

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Robotics scrimmage - Corvallis Gazette Times

Treasure Coast 12:03 a.m. ET Feb. 20, 2017

Dr. Adam Mues performs surgery.(Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Treasure Coast patients who require urologic surgery now have the benefit of receiving their care locallyprovided by an expert surgery team operating Martin Health Systems da Vinci robot.

Robotic surgery is the standard surgical approach for many procedures in urology today, said Dr. Adam Mues, one of Martin Healths urologic surgeons.

Robotics, Mues noted, is especially helpful in surgeries that occur in small areas of the body, such as the pelvis, that are challenging to reach with hands or to see with the naked eye.

Our main concern is patient outcomes, and robotic surgery has improved many of these outcomes, said Mues, who joined Martin Health System in early 2015 after working as an assistant professor at New York University.

Outcomes have improved because of the minimally invasive approach, combined with the robots ability to perform difficult surgeries in an elegant manner, explained Mues.

We are able to perform very sophisticated surgery in small, tight spaces that are difficult to access otherwise, he said.

The surgeries are conducted through small keyhole-like incisions that produce less pain, lessblood loss, and a reduced risk of infection and wound-related complications. Patients generally have shorter hospitalizations and experience faster recovery time and a faster return to normal activities.

Another advantage of the da Vinci robot is an improved ability for surgeons to identify and treat complex conditions such as prostate cancer, kidney cancer and bladder cancer, Mues said.The system has an integrated fluorescence imaging capability called Firefly. Firefly provides the surgeon with real-time, image-guided identification of key anatomical landmarks during cancer surgery.

The robot includes a number of other features helpful to the surgeon. These include enhanced high-definition 3-D imaging for a high level of precision and control, a camera with a light at the end, and a pedal- and finger-controlled console where all robotic instruments and the camera can be manipulated by the surgeon with ease. The instruments have a wristed component with little joints that move, similar to a small hand.

Its a little bit like playing a video game, Mues explained.

For that reason, the majority of robotic surgeries are being performed by a new generation of surgeons more comfortable with technology than their predecessors.

It takes some getting used to, Mues said.You cant feel the patients tissues, which is a major part of all open surgery. The dissection is done with visual cues only, using the tiny instruments manipulated from the control panel rather than your hand.You have to become very skilled and comfortable with learning how to feel the tissues with your eyes.

Mastering robotic surgery involves extensive training. Mues completed his residency in urology at Ohio State University, which pioneered the early use of robotic surgery in urology, followed by a two-year fellowship in robotics at Columbia University in New York City.

Robotic surgery is a great passion of mine, he said. Its very gratifying to be able to treat these conditions in such a precise manner and to give the patient the best chance for an excellent outcome.

Dr. Adam Mues, a urologic surgeon with Martin Health System, performs robotic surgery using the da Vinci robot.(Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Read or Share this story: http://www.tcpalm.com/story/specialty-publications/progress-and-innovation/2017/02/20/sponsor-story-robotics-martin-improving-urologic-procedure-outcomes/97087346/

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SPONSOR STORY: Robotics at Martin improving urologic procedure outcomes - TCPalm

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions boosted its financial support to area schools last week, by adding a $9,000 donation to support robotics programs in Aiken County Schools.

SRNS has a sincere passion for supporting education outreach initiatives, year-round, throughout the CSRA, said SRNS Education Outreach Program Coordinator Kim Mitchell. Its at the primary and secondary levels of education within area school systems that our future leaders and the Savannah River Sites future employees are nurtured, shaped and prepared for life as an adult.

The new funding adds to the annual $20,000 SRNS gives to Public Education Partners. Mitchell said the additional $9,000 in funding is being used by PEP to assist science, technology, engineering, arts and math, or STEM/STEAM magnet schools Jackson Middle and New Ellenton Middle schools in Aiken County. The new funding is directed at helping jump start the student robotics programs.

Robotics programs have been springing up at a number of area schools, including the North Augusta High School team that travelled to the state competition in its first year.

Mitchell believes a cost effective method to deepen students interest in STEM-based courses is to intrigue them with robots. She said working in teams to build, program and compete with robots greatly increases student interest and participation in math, engineering and the sciences.

Ive always been interested in computers and programming, said Logan Hopson, an eighth grade student at Jackson Middle School. Working with robots gives us hands-on experience and hands-on building. Its a completely different perspective related to learning.

STEM and STEAM programs work, said New Ellenton Middle School Principal Shunte Dugar. The impact STEAM-based curriculum has had on our faculty and students have been nothing short of amazing. It is revolutionizing current educational theory, while evolving into a new questioning, tactile method of learning based on collaboration and discovery. We could not be more pleased with the results.

Jackson Middle School recently earned national accreditation for our STEM program, one of only 54 in the world today, said Kishni Neville, JMS STEM Coordinator. I believe a lot of the credit for this incredible accomplishment goes to SRNS for their long-time support, both financially and through their employees who regularly volunteer to help us.

Reach Thomas Gardiner at (706) 823-3339 or thomas.gardiner@augustachronicle.com.

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SRNS jump starts robotics programs in two Aiken County schools - The Augusta Chronicle

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) Indiana high school robotics teams are showing what six weeks of hard work and preparation produces.

Teams from West Lafayette, Harrison, McCutcheon and Jeff high schools showcased their robots Sunday afternoon inside West Lafayettes gym.

The event was put on by student organization Purdue FIRST Programs.

Mentors from Purdue help the high school teams build 120-pound robots to complete specific tasks.

Students will use their robots to compete at FIRST robotics competitions, which take place globally every year.

One participant says he loves the idea of building something out of nothing.

I love robotics because its really amazing to take just things that are scrap metal or a computer with no code and build something amazing that you can that you can compete against other people, Harrison High School student Carl Landskorn said.

Local teams will compete against one another at Harrison High School March 3-5. They will have the opportunity to qualify for future competitions.

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West Lafayette robotics teams show off their hard work - WTHITV.com

MASSENA -- The Massena Central school board on Thursday approved a robotics field trip to Montreal in March.

The team will participate in an international event March 22-25 where they will build a robot that will compete against other schools creations and possibly win awards, high school Principal Sarah Boyce said.

The more that these students can compete, the better they get, she told the board.

They voted 7-0 to allow the trip. They are required to vote on any overnight school events or journeys outside the country.

Boyce also notified the board of a second upcoming robotics event and a music field trip.

The robotics team will attend the New York Tech Valley Regional robotics competition at RPI near Albany in March.

To help pay for their trips, the robotics team has been selling 3d printed keychains. They have also received donations from local businesses and people.

The music department is planning a trip later in the year to see Wicked on broadway and sightsee in Manhattan. They raised more than $10,000 from cookie dough sales earlier in the school year, Boyce said. They will still have to pay $514 per students.

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Massena school board approves robotics trip to Montreal - North Country Now

wlfi.com

Area robotics teams show off their hard work | wlfi.com wlfi.com News from where you live. Local news, sports and weather for Lafayette, West Lafayette, Purdue, Monticello, and surrounding counties. and more »

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Area robotics teams show off their hard work | wlfi.com - wlfi.com

WTNH Connecticut News (press release)

Students compete in robotics competition at University of New Haven WTNH Connecticut News (press release) WEST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) It was robot versus robot at the University of New Haven Sunday. Nearly 200 middle school and high school students converged at the West Haven campus for a robotics competition. An event coordinator says these events do ... and more »

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Students compete in robotics competition at University of New Haven - WTNH Connecticut News (press release)

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ala.

Students from across the state battling for robotic supremacy.

The premise is that students take classroom skills then apply those same skills in a practical manner.

Two engineering students from Oak Mountain High School, and their mentor, tell ABC 33/40 the students design the robots all by themselves.

400 students represented 40 schools. Oak Mountain High School Student Ryan Cruce said the goal of the robotics competition was simple. Cruce told ABC 33/40, "Score as many points as possible. Out score the other team." This year's theme is stars and cubes. For every match, two alliances face-off. Each alliance can score points by throwing or pushing the objects under the fence onto their opponents side of the square. Cruce explained the design of his robot is based on real-word equipment like a bulldozer. "I just thought of it," said Cruce. "I just of something that would be able to score game objects without having to throw stuff over."

Classmate Omar Zuaiter said what happens at the robotics competition comes from hours of work in the classroom. Zuaiter said, "The classroom we design and we use the engineering design process, so that we can come up with the best robots possible for the competition."

Paula Hughes is the engineering teacher for the OMHS robotics team. Hughes said the students are easily engrossed by the design process. Hughes said, "I think they just enjoy designing something that they can see actually work." Hughes said her students, often design the robots, without much of her help. "I try to guide them and answer any questions that they may have," Hughes said. "But they come up with bot design, do all of the programming, all of that on their own."

This saturday's competition was a qualifier for the larger state meet. The state championship will be March 4th at Jacksonville State University.

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Robotics competition reveals hours of hard work by students | WBMA - Alabama's News Leader

The front page of the Times on Monday, Feb. 13, struck me for a number of reasons. My attention was first caught by the terrific story featuring the accomplishments of the RoboCavs robotics team from South Carroll High School. I was at the event that day, and have been following and supporting them for years. I was also pleased with the front-page coverage of the FIRST LEGO League competition in January at St. John's Catholic School, an event I have run for the past seven years in various locations. I am pleased to see such positive coverage of a program that challenges students of all ages to solve problems, apply lessons from their classes, and work together as a team. Indeed, after such great publicity, I expect to get more queries from parents soon.

One need look no further than the other front-page story on Feb 13, "Boys and Girls Club gets $15,000" to understand why participation in robotics is limited. We all rely on donations from corporations and volunteers. Boys and Girls Clubs and robotics teams are examples of community organizations filling the need for opportunities to learn outside of school. We hear debate about the cost of new buildings to house career and technology programs, but lose sight of the fact that it is what goes into those buildings that matters. We have physical structures and seats in classrooms, but students look outside schools to learn critical skills and to apply math and science, to innovations and think critically.

Every week, I hear from a parent who wants to find a robotics team, or a course in programming or electronics for their child. Many expect to find these opportunities at schools. Outside of a small handful, including South Carroll, they find none. After-school robotics programs are not, and have never been, directly supported by CCPS. A staff member must volunteer and the students must raise the funds for materials, registration fees, etc. There are more than a dozen teams meeting at homes around the county because parents volunteer their own time; few in schools. To change this, more adults can 1) volunteer, 2) lobby the State of Maryland to provide the funds identified last year to support after-school robotics programs and 3) remind our local representatives that what happens inside school buildings is just as important as how many students are in seats.

Rose Young

Woodbine

The writer is the director of PIE3; lead mentor of the FIRST Robotics Team 2199, the Robo-Lions; and a science and PLTW teacher and FTC mentor at Glenelg County School.

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Letter: More resources needed for robotics in Carroll - Carroll County Times