Daily Archives: May 4, 2017

How Two New York Rabbis Responded To The 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial – The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com

Posted: May 4, 2017 at 3:23 pm

Photo Credit: Dr. Pear

At the turn of the twentieth century, many immigrant and native-born Jews in the United States unyoked themselves from religious observance. However, the same period also witnessed a parallel phenomenon the forging of a distinctly American form of Orthodox Judaism.

At a particular moment in the 1920s, according to historian Jenna Weissman Joselit, this new breed of Jewish Americans had set before themselves a two-fold goal: to rebuke and repudiate the reformers and to deal effectively and happily with the great task of Americanization.

The Orthodox rabbis who spearheaded this effort were easily riled by descriptions of Orthodoxy as Old World, backward, or out of date. They sought to fashion an American Orthodoxy that was as aesthetic, cultured, and engaged with contemporary issues as it was rooted in tradition.

Quite naturally, then, a number of Orthodox leaders addressed the issue of Darwinism, made timely by the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. By the dawn of the twentieth century, major Reform exponents like Rabbis Emil G. Hirsch and Joseph Krauskopf had formulated well-known articulations of Judaisms compatibility with Darwinian thought, a consensus position in Reform Judaism that won out after initial debate in the 1870s and 1880s.

Orthodoxy remained equivocal about Darwinism, although significant rabbinic figures, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch and Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, for instance, wrote that it was compatible with Jewish belief, even if they did not embrace it outright.

However, despite the contention of American Orthodox rabbis that Judaism ought to respond to the issues of the day, there was no consensus about how to respond: was Darwinism part of the Reform program, in which case it should be combated? Or was it simply representative of Americanization and modernity, in which case it should be embraced?

The tension among Orthodox rabbis is exhibited in the pages of the communitys journal, The Jewish Forum. In 1926, two young and determined Manhattan-based rabbis published positions on the theory of evolution in that well-read monthly.

Rabbi Leo Jung of the Jewish Center was a capable scholar and lifelong leader of American Orthodox organizations. Rabbi David de Sola Pool, spiritual leader of Congregation Shearith Israel (also known as the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue) was similarly a leader within a number of important organizations and a skilled orator with a love of history. Both received ordination from the Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin. Both carried strong attachments to British forms of intellectualism to boot. And their Upper West Side congregations were well within walking distance of one another.

Despite these similarities, their respective positions on Darwinism were far apart. Rabbi Jung questioned the very basis of the theory of evolution while Rabbi Pool readily espoused it.

In July 1925, John Scopes, in a rather theatrical and public legal case, was found guilty of violating Tennessees Butler Act that forbade the teaching of evolution, as it denie[d] the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible. Rabbi Jung made his position on the Scopes Trial clear in the March 1926 issue of The Jewish Forum. He provocatively wrote:

For the benefit of those whom the tragic-comedy of Tennessee may have disturbed, let me state here deliberately and publicly that there has hitherto been no single piece of incontrovertible evidence even to the effect that man lived more than 5686 years ago.

In contrast, Rabbi Pool drew a different lesson from the controversy. Writing in the April issue of the same periodical, he contended that: the theory of evolution [has] taught us to see the unity of God in the infinite variety of life, and even that the rabbis of ancient days caught a glimpse of the origin of species by means of natural selection as part of Gods plan for creation.

The differences between two rabbis who were otherwise so similar demands an explanation. There are several possible answers, but a consideration of these rabbinic leaders in their particular congregational settings can shed a good deal of light.

Rabbi Pool led the oldest Jewish congregation in the United States. Shearith Israels members took great pride in its long American history, probably dating back to the 1720s. In 1907, Rabbi Pool was called to help lead the synagogue by his cousin, Rabbi Henry Pereira Mendes.

Rabbi Mendes belonged to a group of young traditionalists who were well educated scientifically as well as religiously, and who came out in strong support of Darwinism in the 1880s, for instance, in the editorial pages of The American Hebrew.

They actually used Darwinism in their polemics against the Reform movement, arguing that Reform Judaism, in its eagerness to reinvent the religion, violated Darwins and philosopher Herbert Spencers principle of gradualism by suggesting that religion should progress rapidly, in great leaps, rather than incrementally.

Rabbi Mendes and his colleagues suggested that the American traditionalist camp better reflected Darwinian understandings of gradual evolution applied to a traditions adaptation to contemporary environments. Rabbi Pool, as well as many other young Orthodox rabbis, followed suit, seeing the embrace of Darwinism as in no way out of step with their religious sensibilities.

But while Rabbi Pool was leading a congregation that boasted a long history of stable Orthodox perspectives, Rabbi Jung found himself in a radically different situation. Rabbi Jungs Jewish Center was established just seven years before the Scopes Trial, in 1918. Rabbi Jung became the synagogues second rabbi only four years later in 1922. The congregation and its founding rabbi, Mordecai Kaplan, had parted ways due to Rabbi Kaplans expression of positions contrary to Orthodox theology, such as his hesitations on the principle of Divine Revelation.

Actually, Rabbi Kaplan had in fact felt alienated from the theological positions of Orthodoxy from the earliest years of his career. His biographer, Mel Scult, has argued that Rabbi Kaplan emphasized the import of biological and social evolution in his view of religion, and that it was at Columbia in the first years of the twentieth century that he integrated the work of his adviser, Franklin Giddings, as well as Herbert Spencers teachings, into his own thought.

While the full-blown transformation to Reconstructionism would take decades, Rabbi Kaplan began expressing his discomfort and disagreement with Orthodoxy in the years preceding the Scopes Trial.

As Rabbi Kaplan was still affiliated with Orthodox Judaism at the time, his radical theological notions stung other Orthodox rabbis. Rabbi Bernard Drachman, a former professor of Rabbi Kaplans at the Jewish Theological Seminary and the rabbi at Manhattans (Orthodox) Park East Synagogue, wrote a critique of the latters views in 1921, stating: The cause of causes in producing a breakdown of religious sentiment and practice is the growth of a materialist and naturalistic concept of the universe. He bemoaned not only Rabbi Kaplans famous denial of Divine Revelation, but also his assault on God as Creator.

Rabbi Jung realized that his young Manhattan congregation lacked the communal and theological stability that Rabbi Pool enjoyed sixteen blocks away. Rabbi Jung was at the eye of a storm, fighting for every congregant, and considered himself as a defender of an Orthodoxy under fierce attack in the 1920s.

While the defense against what he termed Kaplanism did not detract from Rabbi Jungs mission to display Orthodoxys sophistication and elegance, it likely made him hesitant to embrace concepts that seemed radical in their adjustments to Jewish thought, especially one like Darwinism, which Rabbi Kaplan himself had placed at the center of his reconstruction of Judaism.

The differences between Rabbis Jung and Pool with regard to Darwinism map onto the differences between their respective congregations. Rabbi Pool, in his rooted and stable community, was perpetuating a view that was put forward by his predecessor and mentor forty years earlier regarding the compatibility of Darwinism and Judaism. Rabbi Jung, in the midst of a crisis brought on by his predecessors revolt against traditional Jewish theology, which itself related to evolutionary concepts in the sociology of religion, expressed a rejectionist position toward evolution.

Therefore, somewhat ironically, Rabbi Pools support of Darwinism did not emerge despite tradition but because of the tradition of predecessors like Rabbi Mendes and teachers like his father-in-law, Rabbi Hayyim Hirschenson, as embodied and stabilized by the 250-year old congregation he led.

Rabbi Jungs rejection of Darwinism, on the other hand, is not merely the preservation of old beliefs but a conscious reaction against what he viewed as a pressing danger to Orthodoxy in America.

In each case, questions of doctrine are addressed not in a theoretical vacuum but within the context of living, breathing communities whose histories shape their receptivity to new ideas.

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Robotics – News, Reviews, Features – New Atlas

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Loz Blain April 30, 2017

The worlds first giant robot fight is set to take place in August, between USA's MegaBots and Japans Kuratas. But a third country is set to get in on the action too - China has debuted a prototype of a quadripedal, single-seat fighting robot called the Monkey King, and entered a formal challenge.

David Szondy April 26, 2017

Tecnalia has come up with a 3D-printing robot that pays attention to what it's doing. Called Cogiro, it is billed as the first cable-driven robot that can print large structural parts or even small buildings on site while monitoring if the work is drying properly.

Ben Coxworth April 26, 2017

Programming most robots to grasp and retrieve an object can be a rather complex process. That's why scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new system that simply requires users to click twice with a computer mouse.

David Szondy April 20, 2017

Lockheed Martin has created a simplified version of its Fortis industrial exoskeleton by turning its key weight-bearing component into a separate product called the Fortis Tool Arm. It's designed to allow workers to use heavy tools for extended periods without fatigue.

David Szondy April 19, 2017

Doctoral candidate Geert Folkertsma has spent four years developing a scale robotic cheetah that is not only capable of replicating many of the real animal's movements, but in doing so uses only 15 percent more energy than the real thing.

Ben Coxworth April 17, 2017

When you've got a crop full of plants growing in a field, inspecting each and every one of them can be very monotonous work. With that in mind, scientists from Georgia Tech have created a plant-inspecting robot that swings over the plants like a monkey. It's called Tarzan.

David Szondy April 6, 2017

Chowbotics has unveiled Sally the Salad Robot, which uses up to 21 seasonal ingredients to produce individual, bespoke green salads on demand in thousands of combinations in under a minute.

Ben Coxworth March 31, 2017

Scientists have developed a method of getting soft robotic objects to move using directed magnetic fields. They say that it could be used for applications ranging from remotely-triggered drug-delivery pumps within the body, to the development of remotely deployable structures.

Paul Ridden March 31, 2017

After a quick introduction yesterday, we take a closer look at Festo's OctopusGripper, a versatile gripper for the production line of tomorrow. The Future Concepts robot has been designed to safely pick up, securely hold and gently put down objects in the workplace.

Paul Ridden March 30, 2017

The Bionic Learning Network arm of German automation company Festo has revealed three bio-inspired robots ahead of the Hannover Messe trade fair in April, a tentacle-packing pick and pack gripper and two lightweight robots designed for fluid movement.

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Robotics - News, Reviews, Features - New Atlas

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Rolling with it: Robotics workshops coming up – Marion Star

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Staff report Published 10:15 a.m. ET May 3, 2017 | Updated 10:16 a.m. ET May 3, 2017

Students at the 2016 RAMTEC Vex Robotics Summer Camp watch as a fellow camper completes a challenge in which a robot is guided to pick up a yellow star and drag it to a marked spot, then return to its staring position. Students at the RAMTEC Vex Robotics Summer Camp watch as a fellow camper completes a challenge in which a robot is controlled to pick up a yellow star and drag it to a marked spot, then return to its staring position. One hundred and thirty-five middle and high school students attended the camp this week.(Photo: File photo /The Marion Star)Buy Photo

Robotics teams from Marion County schools have earned success this spring, and two robotics camps atTri-Rivers Career Center are available to keep that trend going.

The 2017 Summer VEX Robotics Camps an Advanced one for high schoolers and a Basics one for students in grades 6-12 will beJune 5-7. Both camps will be held at Tri-Rivers RAMTEC on the Career Center Campus, 2222 Marion-Mt. Gilead Road.

TheGrant Middle Schoolrobotics squad recorded a win in the semifinals of this year'sVEX Worldscompetition in April.

The camps, which were established in 2012, have grown each year. Last year more than 135 middle- and high-school students from Harding, Grant, North Union, Tri-Rivers, Elgin, Ridgedale, Pleasant, River Valley, Highland, Cardington, Gilead Christian, plus a number of home-schooled students, participated, said Ritch Ramey, engineering coordinator for Tri-Rivers RAMTEC. "It is a great time for our next generation of STEM professionals."

The campers will experience robot designing, building and programming using the VEX Robotics System a family of hardware and software designed to teach engineering principles. It is popular with educators for its simple, entry-level designs which can be enhanced into sophisticated robotics systems as students advance, Ramey said. "The company sponsors regional, national and international game-based engineering competitions for student teams in 32 countries."

The camp is designed to be fun and challenging, according to Ramey, who wants kids exposed to the idea of manufacturing as a career while theyre youngsters.

This year's camps are sponsored by grants from industrial manufacturing companies looking for future high skill workers, including Honda, Yaskawa Robotics, Consolidated Electric and SME EF Prime. The Ohio Department of Education alsosupports the program through its Ohio Straight A Grants, which supportproject-based learning in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The Advanced VEX Summer Camp (Grades 8-12), will include: Safety, Terminology, Tools & Software, Reviewing Robot Construction, Programming; Building & Competing in Robot Challenge; Reviewing Gearing, Torgue, Engineering Notebook & Programming; Reviewing Sensors, Pneumatics, Competing is Robot Skills Contest, and more.

Lunch and a T-shirt are provided to participants at both camps.

The Basics VEX Summer Camp (Grades 6-12), will include: students planning their designs and redesigns for their 2018 VEX Robots and working on Engineering Notebooks.

For more information call Ritch Ramey 740-360-8156. Visit ramtecohio.com to register for camplook under VEX.

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Abundant Robotics rakes in $10 million for apple harvesting robots … – TechCrunch

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TechCrunch
Abundant Robotics rakes in $10 million for apple harvesting robots ...
TechCrunch
GV (formerly Google Ventures) is leading a $10 million investment in Abundant Robotics, a company building apple-picking robots that could eventually be..
Apple-Picking Robot Prepares to Compete for Farm Jobs - MIT ...MIT Technology Review

all 3 news articles »

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Here’s how to pitch or demo at TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics – TechCrunch

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TechCrunch
Here's how to pitch or demo at TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics
TechCrunch
Have a robotic startup or project? We want you on stage at TechCrunch Session: Robotics this July 17 at MIT. We're looking for students to demo and early stage startups to pitch. If selected, both will get free tickets and exhibit space at the event ...

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Raynal Returns as Motion Controls Robotics’s Sales Development Manager – Robotics Online (press release)

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Motion Controls Robotics, Inc. Posted 05/04/2017

Fremont, OH - Motion Controls Robotics, a leading provider of fully integrated material handling robotic systems, is excited to announce the return of Earl Raynal Jr. He is joining the sales team as a Sales Development Manager responsible for new customer acquisitions in North America. Raynal will also hold the role of regional sales manager (RSM) for Michigan and Ontario territories, and he will take over all accounts in those regions as of Monday, May 1, 2017.

Raynal has extensive Sales, Project Management and Engineering experience in the material handling industry, including business development experience in integration of robot systems, automatic guided vehicle systems and other automated material handling systems.

Motion Controls Robotics is glad to have Earl Raynal Jr back with the company.

"Earl's previous customers have appreciated various deliveries of successful robotic systems, and we know he will continue to develop and deliver innovative robotic systems to our growing customer base," commented James Skelding, Director of Sales and Marketing, about Raynals return to the company.

Raynal graduated from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a B.S. degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering, he has held various roles within the AGV Product Section of MHIA (Material Handling Industry of America).

About Motion Controls Robotics Founded in 1995 and celebrating over 20 years of continuous growth, Motion Controls Robotics is a leading provider of automation solutions to manufacturing industries. The company provides full service robotic solutions from concept to installation and service/support that keep manufacturers competitive. Motion Controls Robotics creates solutions for Fortune 500 and small to medium-sized companies in the food & beverage, plastics, building & construction materials, converting, manufacturing and board & sheet goods industries. They also automate small production shops and machine job shops. Motion Controls Robotics provides automation solutions to manufacturers for a variety of applications including material handling (case packing, palletizing and machine tending), and vision-guided systems. Motion Controls Robotics is an exclusive Level 4 Certified Servicing Integrator for FANUC Robotics, and a SmartCart Automatic Guided Cart Value Added Reseller (VAR) for Daifuku Webb.

Motion Controls Robotics northwest Ohio headquarters is located at 1500 Walter Avenue, Fremont, Ohio.

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Robotics program takes kids to world competition | Arts … – goanacortes

Posted: at 3:23 pm

When it comes to competing against the best of the best of robotics teams around the world, its not only about the robot. Its also about strategy.

The Anacortes High School FIRST Robotics team (aka the Cyborg Ferrets) just returned home from a fourth consecutive trip to the FIRST worlds competition, this time in Houston.

The team of 24 students and 21 mentors had its best-ever showing this year, senior and chief systems engineer Eliot Briefer said. During competition play, about half the team is with the robot. A team of five is actually out on the field. Theres a driver, a coach and a few others performing tasks.

Other team members are out scouting the competition and potential alliances. Different teams have different strengths, so its important to pickv alliances that complement your team, senior Noah Hieb said.

Most of that is just compiling data, junior Katherine Butler said. Scouters watch every match, track other teams and converse with their strategy mentor to see which potential ally might be the best fit.

Each year, the robotics season starts at the beginning of the year. On Jan. 7, a video is released by the FIRST organization, along with rule book detailing that years game.

The game is always different with new challenges to complete, Briefer said. The first task is to build a model of what the game might look like to help team leaders decide what elements the robot might need.

Strategy sessions are followed by build season. The team meets three days a week after school for three hours a day, plus eight-hour sessions every Saturday. Some team members stay in the robotics lab for hours beyond that, Butler said.

We see more of each other than we do our families, so we become like a family here, she said.

Each robot across the world has certain regulations on it, like weight and how much money can be spent on materials.

Six weeks after building starts, each robot must be sealed into a bag until competition begins. At competition, judges ensure that robots have remained in the bag until competition so that each team gets the same amount of time to complete its robot.

Most design work on robots at AHS is done via Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) programs.

Manufacturing is done at the school, using a plasma cutter, 3-D printers and other technology. Some teams send out for pieces to be molded or bent, but Briefer said the Cyborg Ferrets prefer to do the work themselves.

The team also visits district competitions around the state. Teams earn points at each competition, and the top-ranked team becomes the first alliance captain and asks two other teams to join them in the final rounds.

If the second-ranked team has not been asked to be a part of the first alliance, it becomes the next alliance captain and so on.

Each team is awarded points for several factors. In addition to being ranked at each individual competition, each team is ranked in the district.

AHS was ranked first in district points at the end of the preliminary season this year. At the Pacific Northwest District Championship, it took the lead early and was the first alliance captain.

The team was ranked first among 155 teams across Washington, Alaska and Oregon, program manager and junior Elisabeth Jenkins said.

It also had a strong showing at the world competition in Houston.

We did enormously better than last year, Briefer said. And that was enormously better than the year before.

After qualifying matches last year, the Cyborg Ferrets were the last of 32 teams picked to be a part of an alliance.

This year, it was the fourth alliance captain, asking teams from Israel and California to join.

The team made it to the semi-finals.

This years game challenged the teams to place gears, shoot balls into a basket and climb a rope, something the team had never done.

Its all about timing, Briefer said. The coach stands on the floor, keeps an eye on all members of the alliance and on the time. Sometimes, its about deciding whether completing a task in the time remaining is worth the risk.

Other times, its about defense. Blocking an opponent from completing its goal, for example, could result in victory.

Dylan Jimenez has served as the driver for the Anacortes team for two years. He had to pass knowledge tests on the rules and prove he should have that job. He said its a lot of pressure.

You know there are 24 people watching you, he said.

Another part of the competition is public outreach and setting up the pit. In addition to being a place to work on the robot, the space is decorated by the team to showcase to competitors what the team is like.

This AHS team decorated its pit like a Victorian factory to match the games steampunk theme, Jenkins said.

The world competition is in a NFL football stadium, with eight fields of competition all going at once, she said. The games draw a crowd of about 30,000. Teams get to meet kids with similar interests from all over the world.

These are people we would never meet any other way, Briefer said.

While the FIRST robotics at the high school level has been the most successful in terms of world competition appearances, there are other levels of robotics available to students, Jenkins said.

The FIRST Tech challenge is similar to the general robotics team, she said. It is aimed at high school students but features smaller robots.

The FIRST Lego League is open for students ages 9 to 14 years. Each project has a theme and a mission to complete.

The FIRST Lego League Junior is open to kids 6 to 9 years old. The teams create Lego models with moving parts and present to judges about them.

Learn more at team3238.com/home or email anacortesrobotics@gmail.com.

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North American Robotics Market Surges 32 Percent in Unit Volume – Robotics Online (press release)

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Robotic Industries Association Posted 05/04/2017

Strongest First Quarter On Record with $516 Million in Orders

North American robotics companies posted the strongest ever first-quarter results, according to the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), the industrys trade group. Both robot orders and shipments achieved record levels.

An all-time high total of 9,773 robots valued at approximately $516 million were ordered from North American robotics companies during the first quarter of 2017. This represents growth of 32 percent in units over the same period in 2016, which held the previous record. Order revenue grew 28 percent over the first quarter of last year. Robot shipments also reached new heights, with 8,824 robots valued at $494 million shipped to North American customers in the opening quarter of the year. This represents growth of 24 percent in units and five percent in dollars over the same period in 2016.

The automation industry continues to grow robustly as companies invest to increase productivity and boost competitiveness while also providing opportunities for workers, said Jeff Burnstein, President of RIA. We are excited to hear about the new jobs being created and how companies such as Amazon, GM, and others are training and retraining their workforce to enable them to embrace these higher skilled jobs.

Growth in Automotive Soars Growth in automotive related industries soared in the first quarter of 2017. Robots ordered by automotive component suppliers were up 53 percent while orders by automotive OEMs increased 32 percent. Another good sign for the future of robotics was the continued growth in non-automotive industries like metals (54 percent), semiconductors/electronics (22 percent), and food & consumer goods (15 percent). The biggest increases were in arc welding (102 percent), coating & dispensing (64 percent), and spot welding (36 percent) applications. RIA estimates that 250,000 robots are now in use in the United States, the third highest in the world behind Japan and China.

Market Growth Reflected in Automate Attendance RIA and its parent group, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), see the impact of the growth in demand for robotics and related automation at industry events such as Automate 2017, recently held in Chicago from April 3-6, 2017. This years show featured more than 400 exhibitors displaying their latest technologies and services, including global suppliers of robotics, motion control, motors, vision systems, metrology, software and system integration services for enterprises large and small. Over 20,000 people attended Automate 2017, including over 1,000 participants in the 120+ Automate conference sessions held at the event.

All of our statistics increased significantly from the last Automate show in 2015, added Burnstein. Total number of show attendees jumped 37 percent and conference participation grew by over 90 percent compared to 2015. This growth demonstrates that there is an increasing need for an event like Automate that provides practical, real-world solutions for companies currently automating or considering automation.

Collaborative Robots & Advanced Vision Conference Set RIA and its sister group, AIA Advancing Vision + Imaging, are teaming up to bring more content on leading-edge robot and machine vision trends in 2017. The Collaborative Robots & Advanced Vision Conference will take place November 15-16 in San Jose, CA, and will feature presentations from market leaders in robotics, vision, and imaging. More information will be available in the coming weeks on the RIAand AIA websites.

About Robotic Industries Association (RIA) Founded in 1974, RIA is a not-for-profit trade association driving innovation, growth, and safety in manufacturing and service industries through education, promotion, and advancement of robotics, related automation technologies, and companies delivering integrated solutions. RIA represents some 450 robot manufacturers, system integrators, component suppliers, end users, consulting firms, research groups, and educational institutions. The association hosts a number of educational events including the National Robot Safety Conference (October 10-12, 2017 in Pittsburgh), the Collaborative Robots & Advanced Vision Conference (November 15-16, 2017 in San Jose), the A3 Business Forum (January 17-19, 2018 in Orlando) and the biennial Automate Show & Conference (April 8-11, 2019 in Chicago). RIA also provides quarterly robotics statistics and has a content-rich website, Robotics Online. For more details on RIA, visit Robotics Online or call 734-994-6088.

About Association for Advancing Automation (A3) The Association for Advancing Automation is the global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. A3 is the umbrella group for Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA - Advancing Vision + Imaging, and Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA). RIA, AIA, and MCMA combined represent over 1,000 automation manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, research groups and consulting firms from throughout the world that drive automation forward. For more information, please visit our websites: A3, RIA, AIA, MCMA.

Contact: Bob Doyle Director of Communications (734) 994-6088

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Upton legislation to promote FIRST Robotics – HollandSentinel.com

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Sentinel staff

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn Heights, re-introduced bipartisan legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that will champion the STEM education program FIRST Robotics. H.R. 5168, the Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act of 2017, would mint a $1 coin in honor of Christa McAuliffe, the teacher and astronaut who perished in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and recognize and support FIRST Robotics.

FIRST Robotics is the nations leading not-for-profit Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education program established by inventor Dean Kamen. Once the money is recouped by the U.S. Treasury for the cost of minting the commemorative coin, all of the profits would go to FIRST Robotics. There would be no cost to the taxpayer.

Michigan has the most FIRST Robotics teams in the country. Students on these teams grow up to become inventors, engineers, small business owners, and community leaders, said Upton. A few might even end up as the astronauts whose vision extends beyond our world, to new planets and galaxies just like Christa McAuliffe. It is vitally important that we continue to encourage this type of inventive learning and team building. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this legislation passed.

FIRST Robotics helps students in Michigan reach for the stars whether they want to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, this innovative programs helps young people gain the real-world knowledge and skills to help solve some of our most pressing future challenges, said Dingell. We need to encourage this talent and creativity. This coin provides a pathway to support these efforts while honoring an individual who inspired generations to enter the STEM field. I am proud to work with Rep. Upton and my colleagues to encourage young people to be at the forefront off innovation and technology.

Upton and Dingell are joined by original co-sponsors U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, R-Illinois, and U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon.

Upton first introduced the bill last May during the previous Congress.

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Local robotics teams dominate at state championship – Midland Daily News

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The robot from Midland High's Team 5509 delivering a gear during competition.

The robot from Midland High's Team 5509 delivering a gear during competition.

Dow High's Team 2619 with the State Consumer's Energy Division championship banner.

Dow High's Team 2619 with the State Consumer's Energy Division championship banner.

Calvary Baptist Academy's Team 6753 drive team and robot.

Calvary Baptist Academy's Team 6753 drive team and robot.

Local robotics teams dominate at state championship

Several local robotics teams soared in the Michigan FIRST Robotics State Championship April 13-15 at Saginaw Valley State University.

Of the 450 FIRST robotics teams in Michigan, 160 qualified to compete at the state level. Among these teams were H. H. Dow Highs Team 2619 The Charge, Midland Highs Team 5509 Like A Boss, Bullock Creek Highs Team 3770 BlitzCreek, Freeland Highs Team 5166 Fabricators, Calvary Baptist Academys Team 6753 RoboKings and Bay City Westerns Team 5603 Rise of the Warrior Bots.

The teams were divided into four different fields of 40 teams, with each being named after the major sponsors of the event: Consumers Energy, Dow Chemical, DTE Energy and Ford.

On the Consumers Energy Field, Calvary Baptist finished ranked 11th out of 40 and was selected for playoffs by Flints Team 1506 Metal Muscle and Brightons Team 4362 Gems, making it to semifinals.

Dow High finished ranked 21st out of 40 and was selected for playoffs by Gladstones Team 4391 Bravebots and Zeelands Team 85 B. O. B. (Built on Brains). Dow Highs alliance went on to win six out of its seven elimination matches to be crowned the Consumers Energy State Division Champions. Dow Highs alliance then moved on to the overall State Championship final field to play the winners of the other three fields, but fell short of the ultimate state title in the semifinals.

In the DTE Energy Division, Bullock Creek finished ranked 2nd out of 40, placing them as the captain of the second seeded alliance. They selected Fremonts Team 1918 NC Gears and Fennvilles Team 5173 Robohawks to join them in the playoffs. Midland High finished ranked 3rd place out of 40, placing them as the captain of the third seeded alliance. They selected Cantons Team 4405 The Atoms Family and Rochesters Team 201 The FEDS to join them in playoffs. Both alliances advanced through the quarterfinals into the semifinals, which pitted the two area teams against each other. In a set of close matches, the Midland High alliance claimed victory, advancing to the finals.

The Midland High alliance won its first match, but its opponents gained a narrow victory in the second match to force a tiebreaker. Due to a last second penalty, the Midland High alliance fell, becoming the DTE Energy Division finalists.

In addition to its playoff performance, Bullock Creek was awarded the Excellence in Engineering award by the judges on the DTE Energy Field. The award celebrates an elegant and advantageous machine feature.

Calvary Baptist was awarded the Rookie Inspiration award by the judges on the Consumers Energy Field. This award celebrates a rookie teams outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering and engineers, both within their school as well as in their community.

The Freeland Fabricators team also competed in the DTE Energy Division, where it received the Pit Safety recognition award. Bay City Westerns team competed in the Ford Division where it won the Team Spirit Award, which celebrates extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit through exceptional partnership & teamwork.

Dow High student Michael Most was also recognized as a FIRST Deans List finalist, the first Dow High student to ever receive this honor. The Deans List celebrates outstanding student leaders whose passion and effectiveness at attaining FIRST ideals is exemplary. Most will have the opportunity to interview for the FIRST Deans List award at the FIRST Championship along with winners from events all across the world.

Of the local teams that attended the state championship, Dow High, Bullock Creek, Midland High, Calvary Baptist and Freeland qualified to compete at the FIRST World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

Its a really big surprise that our rookie team is able to go to Worlds and I hope to have as much fun as I did at States and do my best during the competitions, Aaron Heydenburg, member of Calvary Baptists first-year team, said.

Bullock Creeks team captain & senior drive team member, Connor Stark, added, My favorite part of States was being an Alliance Captain. Im looking forward to showing off our robot and seeing other robots from around the World.

The 2017 FIRST Robotics Competition game is called FIRST Steamworks. In this steampunk-themed competition, two alliances of three robots each prepare to take flight by scoring balls to build steam pressure, gather gears to start rotors and climb rope to board onto the airships at the end of each match.

More information regarding the teams and FIRST can be found at http://www.firstinmichigan.org

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Local robotics teams dominate at state championship - Midland Daily News

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