Daily Archives: February 18, 2017

Corvallis, Ore. Oregon State Universitys robotics program has spun off one of its first businesses focusing on robotic locomotion, and theyve created Cassie to show what theyre capable of.

The business, called Agility Robotics, will license technologies developed at OSU, particularly advanced robotic mobility.

This technology will simply explode at some point, when we create vehicles so automated and robots so efficient that deliveries and shipments are almost free, said Jonathan Hurst, an associate professor of robotics in the OSU College of Engineering, chief technology officer at Agility Robotics and an international leader in the development of legged locomotion.

According to OSU, Agility Robotics is now offering a bipedal robot named Cassie.

The university said previous robots designs were inefficient because motors ended up working against one another. Students created a mathematical framework to solve the problem. The resulting design looks very much like a bird.

We werent trying to duplicate the appearance of an animal, just the techniques it uses to be agile, efficient and robust in its movement, Hurst said.

OSU said the company plans to do all initial production in Oregon. Hiring is anticipated for research, production and development.

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Bellevue West senior Hunter Rausch picked up a blue and silver three-wheeled robot from a table and set it on the floor. He turned to classmate Deanna Shane.

Theoretically, if I push the middle button, it should go here, Rausch said, pointing one foot ahead of where the robot sat. If I push it twice, it should go another foot.

Rausch and Shane, both 18, are members of the high schools robotics club, one of 96 robotics teams that will be competing today in the CEENBoT Showcase at the Nebraska Robotics Expo.

The expo, held at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum near Ashland, is open to elementary, middle and high schools across the state.

Competitors in this category will take part in six competitions related to this years theme, CEENBoT Carnival.

CEENBoT Robotics Showcase Director Alisa Gilmore said the expo is funded with a National Science Foundation grant to help teachers get their students involved in science, technology, engineering and math.

Robots, she said, are used as a platform to get students engaged through hands-on activities.

Gilmore, an associate professor of practice at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering, said the program also works with students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Students in the College of Engineering helped area teachers create robots and demonstrate how they can be taken into classrooms. Students in the College of Education developed the curriculum.

The competition is an opportunity for students to show off the work they have put in during the academic year, Gilmore said.

Bellevue West will send three teams to the expo. Club sponsor Dan Parkison has spent the last month recreating the challenges so his students can have a feel for the course. Rausch and Shane both will compete this weekend.

Other events at the expo include presentation, a navigation course called Pokebot Go, a midway maze and a carnival cart challenge in which robots must retrieve items from a maze.

The FIRST Lego League 2016 Animal Allies Challenge will host another 48 teams at its Saturday event. Students attending this competition will explore how to make interactions between humans and animals better. The two competitions, CEENBoT Showcase and FIRST Lego League, are not related, but will both take place at the SAC Museum.

Robots will be roaming in Omaha as well at the Heartland Regional Robotics Championship, sponsored by Create, at Omaha North High School.

Students from 100 middle and high school teams are competing in computer-paired alliances that conclude Saturday evening. Teams are paired to test not only their technical skills and understanding of technology but their ability to collaborate.

Carol Kujawa, program support for Create, said the competition is for teams that have performed successfully earlier in the season. It is an opportunity for teams to qualify for the U.S. Open Robotics Championship, April 4 to 8 at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, or the VEX Robotics World Championship, April 19-25 in Louisville, Kentucky.

becca.mann@owh.com,402-444-3185

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Omaha metro-area contests test students' robotic skills - Omaha World-Herald

The Immokalee High School Robotics Team fine tunes their robots before a match in the VEX Robotics state championship at the Tampa Fairgrounds on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. Two teams from Immokalee competed in the championship, with one team ranking 28th and the other 13th.(Photo: Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

As Kristians hands disappeared into the guts of the robot to work his magic, Jennifer held it steady while Isaiah updated the group on how much time was left.

Theyre on match 55 with one minute left. Were 58th. We have time, Isaiah said.

But the creases between Kristians brow deepened as the stress sunk in.

Jennifer went into maternal mode as Holiday by indie rock band Weezer played on the speakers.

Weezer is looking down on you and saying,Bro, relax. He likes robots too, I bet, she assured him.

Kristian was working to repair his robots motor before their next match. It was just one of many setbacks the team from Immokalee High had encountered while competing Friday at the Florida state championship VEX Robotics competition in Tampa.

Immokalee High School Robotics Team senior Kristian Trevino programs his robot before a match in the VEX Robotics state championship at the Tampa Fairgrounds on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. Two teams from Immokalee competed in the championship, with one team ranking 28th and the other 13th.(Photo: Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News)

Two robots from Immokalee qualified for the games.

The first, Dragonzord, was the brainchild of captain and pilot Kristian Trevino, 18, and mechanics Jennifer Villa, 18, and Isaiah Reyna, 16.

The second robot, Megazord, was built and controlled by captain and pilot Damian Gonzalez-Perez, 17, and mechanics Christopher Rios, 18, and George Herrera-Carrillo, 15.

The bots, named after the forces made famous by the TV show Power Rangers, were competing against 55 others for the title of state champion and a spot at the world competition in Louisville, Kentucky,in April.

On a 12-foot-square playing field, the bots competed in six qualifying matches to see how many toy stars and cubes each could throw over to the other side in the allotted two minutes. The robots, driven by a designated team member through a game controller, can gain bonus points for climbing onto a corner post and for driving autonomously.

Each round brought a new set of problems: a broken circuit, faulty programming, a slowed drive system.

In one round, Megazord forgot to unlock the bots pinchers. The team could do nothing but look on as the bot squirmed helplessly like a handcuffed felon pinned to the ground.

It was an oopsie, Christopher said, refusing to let the setback dampen his spirits.

Then, after the third round, both bots suffered from broken motors.

This is the sort of thing that happens when you dont test the robots. They should have spent a week testing, but they ran out of time, said Fred Rimmler, their coach, who also teaches engineering at Immokalee.

The team had been making finishing touches to their robot until 8 p.m. the night before.

But the motor repair gave Dragonzord its mojo back almost.

Immokalee High School Robotics Team members, from left, Isaiah Reyna, Kristian Trevino, and Jenni Villa compete in the VEX Robotics state championship at the Tampa Fairgrounds on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. Two teams from Immokalee competed in the championship, with one team ranking 28th and the other 13th.(Photo: Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News)

After hurling the bits of foam over the divide at a steady pace throughout the first half, Dragonzords pincher latched onto the opposing teams rubber band and couldnt free itself.

Thats never happened before. Its just a really bad day, Kristian said.

Dragonzord ultimately won four matches and lost two, disqualifying them from continuing.

But a team that had ranked higher than they did U.S.S.R. (University School Sharks Robotics) saw promise in the young 'zord and picked the team to compete alongside them in the quarterfinals.

When the teams found theyd be up against Trinity Dragons last years state champions they felt certain they wouldnt stand a chance.

The Dragons, whose captain sported matching neon green shoes, T-shirt and fanny pack (with an attached bottle of electrolyte sport jelly beans), had created a machine so flawless it made flinging oversized toys across a ring look like a ballet dancer pirouetting across a stage.

The match went as expected, with Dragonzord and U.S.S.R. losing 2-0.

I mean, theyve been doing this since middle school, and we made it to the quarterfinals in our first year, Jennifer said.

Although Immokalees robotics club is in its second year, this is the first year the team has competed outside the district.

Im proud of myself and everyone, but its still a bummer, she said.

Immokalee High School Robotics Team seniors Chris Rios, left, and Damian Gonzalez react as they lose a match during the VEX Robotics state championship at the Tampa Fairgrounds on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. Two teams from Immokalee competed in the championship, with one team ranking 29th and the other 13th.(Photo: Dorothy Edwards/Naples Daily News)

The loss weighed heavy on Kristian. Trinity Dragons had told him they were planning to pick Dragonzord to be on their team, but U.S.S.R. had priority over Trinityand chose Dragonzord before Trinity had the chance.

Im angry and upset, but its OK. It just really sucks, Kristian said.

Kristian plans to attendFlorida Polytechnic University in the fall and said the captains of Trinity and Vexecutives, another promising team, also might be attending.

Hopefully, if we all go there well have a great robotics team, he said.

Trinity Dragons, Vexecutives and Skull & Bones went on to win the state championship, and Dragonzord placed 13th.

Megazord won three out of their six qualifying matches and werent selected to compete in the quarterfinals. They ranked 28th overall.

Im not too down about this, Christopher said. Its good to show veterans that the little people like us can come so far and make a name for ourselves.

George, the only Megazord who wont be graduating this year, said hes looking forward to growing the team next year.

I want to learn and experience more," he said. "Seeing how far we got this year, I hope other people will see that and want to join next year.

Although neither Dragonzord nor Megazord made it to the top 10, which is needed to qualify for the world competition, the teams still might have the opportunity to compete.

States are awarded bonus spots based on participation level and growth, and this year Florida has a total of 26 open spots.

The teams will be notified Saturday whetherthey have qualified to compete in what is sure to be a fierce battle of the bots on an epic, international stage.

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Immokalee High competes at robotics state championship in Tampa - Naples Daily News

When Kevin King and his two kids decided to start a just for fun family project of building a robot, they didnt necessarily anticipate creating a new company. Yet, here they are, three years later with a team of three to five people, building educational and hobby robotics under the name Plum Geek Robotics in Vancouver. The best part: theyre having a blast doing it.

King and his kids started their endeavor by building a small programmable robot they named Ringo. With a prototype in hand, they launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to see how things would go. In just three weeks, they raised more than $80,000. Now, their pint-sized robots are used in many schools and they continue to be popular with hobbyists of all ages.

The company is based out of a 2,000-square-foot shop near Pearson Airfield and everything happens there design, prototyping, manufacturing and shipping. Having a shop where everything is completed under one roof allows the team to be flexible and operate with minimum overhead.

Were all about designing tools to help educate others in understanding electronics and programming and enabling them to apply this knowledge to their own projects and further higher learning, said King.

Recent projects

The company recently completed a campaign to fund their newest line of miniature robots, known as Spirit Rovers. Affectionately named after the NASA rover thats now on Mars, Plum Geek raised $170,000 on Kickstarter in three weeks. A bit larger than a credit card and running a full Linus operating system, these robots are scheduled to ship in March or April of this year.

This robot is easy to understand and grow with as students and hobbyists learn to build and program a complex robot, said King. Users will learn to do simple things like driving around a desk while sensing and avoiding edges, or more complex things like control and program over the internet, or recognize objects with the vision system.

Beyond the Spirit Rover line, the company has also worked on revising their popular Ringo and Wink robots. Wink includes free open-source lessons that are geared for students ages eight and up to learn written programming code, which makes them popular in the classroom. The Ringo has been popular with high school and college classes, and the University of Oregon has recently integrated them in some of their coursework.

The future

The technology industry is continuously changing and Plum Geek Robotics plans to be right in the midst of it.

Weve got a few new ideas in the pipeline for this summer, King said. We do well with niche products so wherever we see a need in the education, robotics and Maker Space markets, well be there.

King went on to explain that part of the fun at Plum Geek Robotics is not having a fancy five-year plan, but instead making things up as they go.

I like to keep options open, he said. When one of us has a good idea, we produce it and see how it does.

So far, that concept has proven very successful.

King and his team love what theyre doing and theyre open to outside projects as well as collaborations with others, especially those in the educational community. He says, I see a lot of growth for small businesses like ours going forward. Its an exciting time.

Plum Geek Robotics 229 E. Reserve St., #102 Vancouver Founded 2014 http://www.plumgeek.com

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Plum Geek Robotics: Breathing life into robots - Vancouver Business Journal

Hometown Life 2:13 p.m. ET Feb. 17, 2017

Robots playing Velocity Vortex.(Photo: Submitted)

Redford Union School Districts Hilbert Middle School showcased its first seventh-and-eighth-grade robotics team Panther Robotics this school year. The rookie team took part in a First Tech Challenge, part of the FIRST family of robotics. Redford Union Schools and DTE Energy are the teams sponsors.

The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization creates games, and robotics teams are expected to build robots that can play them.

This years FIRST Tech Challenge season kicked off in early September with the global release of the Velocity Vortex contest.

This is how that game is played:

Velocity Vortex, presented by Qualcomm, is played on a 12-foot by 12-foot square field with approximately 1-foot high walls and a soft foam mat floor.

According to the Velocity Vortex website, the field is divided diagonally into a red and a blue side corresponding to the two alliances. There are two goals on a rotatable stand called the Center Vortex in the center of the field. The Corner Vortex, which consists of two ramps, each with a goal, is placed at opposite sides of the field. There are also four alliance-neutral beacons, two placed on each front wall next to the Corner Vortex. Floor markings and Vision Targets are placed on the field walls as reference points for robot navigation, according to the website.

The object of the game is to score points by capturing beacons, shooting particles and lifting a large yoga ball.

The Panther robot was built, programmed and driven by a team of seventh-graders and eighth-graders from Hilbert.They also worked closely with adult mentors and coaches.

The team competed in its first competition onNov.19at Novi Middle School.The FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team played fiverounds of this years game against 34 other teams from around the metro area.The Panthers placed16th out of 34, which was well ahead of many veteran teams.

Hilberts robot team was invited to a scrimmage at Oak Valley Middle School in Commerce Township held on Nov.29.The team was able to collaborate with top rated teams from the Huron Valley School District. This helped them prepare for the next competition held on December 10th at Detroit U of D Mercy. The Panthers took seventhplace with the team winning a Robot Controls Award and was a finalist for the PTC Design Award.

The Panther Robotic team is made up of William Armor, Sara Casavoy, Grace Clarey, Jacob Evans, Lauren Gist, Damien Jackson, Ariel Pickettand Justin Sidaway.

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