Colin Melia's living room,dining room and garage are jammed with computers, wires, 3D printers and soldering equipment. There's even a big water tank for testing. <\/p>\n
\"I think the whole house has become the war room it's fair to say.\" <\/p>\n
What it's really become is a robotics workshop, thanks to the work-to-rule campaign earlier this year by Nova Scotia teachers during their contract dispute with the government. <\/p>\n
Whileeverything frombasketball tournamentsto school plays were sidelined by work-to-rule,Melia, a father of a student atCharlesP. Allen High School in Bedford,was determined not to let that happen to the school's robotic team.So he turned the team into a not-for-profit called Halifax Robotics. <\/p>\n
\"The robotic season is December to March and when work-to-rule came in we were fearful it would go on for a while. The teachers were really supportive, we just couldn't know how long it would go on for,\" he said. <\/p>\n
Instead of heading to the school'scontruction\/techroom when the bell sounds,16students in grades 10, 11 and 12 go toMelia'shouse. <\/p>\n
\"I just had to persuade my wife that it would be OK,\"Meliajoked while students tinkered and worked behind him. <\/p>\n
He spokeas students workedon fine-tuning the underwater robot that helped them win the recent regionals at the Nova Scotia Community College. <\/p>\n
\"We learned quite a bit about programming,\" said Yu Yang Li. \"Before we didn't know that much about programming, now that I think of it.\" <\/p>\n
The hard work paid off, with the groupadvancing to the MATE International ROV (remotely operated vehicle) competition in CaliforniaJune 23.The robotics team also travelled to the MATE eventlast year. <\/p>\n
Colin Melia's living room, dining room and garage have been turned into a robotics workshop with computers, wires, 3D printers and soldering equipment. (Colleen Jones\/CBC) <\/p>\n
There are 30 teams from 16 countries looking to show that they've built the best underwater robot. <\/p>\n
The Nova Scotia team's robothas six thrusters, four articulators and six IP cameras plus an onboard microcontroller. Almost all of the components have been built on 3D printers. <\/p>\n
They have learned engineering, computer programming and code writing, butalso got a crash course in finding an alternative way to keep on going when a contract dispute looked like it was going to derail their entire robotic season. <\/p>\n
When the team returns from California, Melia and his family might be able to eat at their dining room table again. Until then, it remains the headquarters for Halifax Robotics. <\/p>\n
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How CP Allen's robotics club survived work-to-rule - CBC.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Colin Melia's living room,dining room and garage are jammed with computers, wires, 3D printers and soldering equipment. There's even a big water tank for testing Continue reading