Monthly Archives: July 2017

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --

The Center for Character and Leadership Development hosted 25 robotics educators from across the U.S. at the FIRST Leadership Experience June 24-26 in Polaris Hall.

Air Force Recruiting sponsored and accompanied the teachers, all members of the national organization For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST. Most teach at the middle and high school level and are commonly called FIRST Mentors.

"We wanted to attract the best and brightest here and create a STEM connection with them," said Capt. Ross McKnight, an Academy grad and Air Force recruiter.

The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based robotics teams that build science, engineering and technology skills. They engage kindergarten through high school students to build their STEM skills and inspire their imagination by fostering self-confidence, communication and leadership.

"Our vision is to transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders," said FIRST Founder Dean Kamen.

McKnight said the mission of his office is to connect the Air Force with like-minded organizations who foster STEM goals in U.S. education.

The teachers participated in sessions designed to hone their mentoring skills through immersion with the Air Force core values. Sessions covered team building, leadership, creative problem solving and organizational skills.

Adrianne Strange of Air Force Recruiting said the CCLD was the obvious place to bring the group to discuss new ways of leading tomorrow's STEM stand-outs.

Mentors were also given tours of the CCLD, mechanics lab, aero lab, robotics lab and cadet pavilion. They also took a turn on the ropes course.

"It's great to be reminded of how the Air Force core values should be at the fore-front of our leadership and therefore our teams and classrooms," said Tom Shultz, a teacher and FIRST Mentor from Michigan. "I'm grateful for this tremendous opportunity which will undoubtedly make a positive impact on my classroom students and [robotics] team. I'm sure I speak for the other 24 teachers when I say I'm excited to see the domino effect that this will have on all of the students in our lives."

Originally posted here:

Academy hosts leadership conference with FIRST Robotics Mentors - U.S. Air Force Academy

The Girl Scouts of the USA unveiled 23 new badges related to science, technology, mathematics, and nature activities this week, responding to popular demand for activities related to interests such as the outdoors, mechanical engineering, and computer programming.

The new badges will have members designing robots and learning about mechanical engineering, " building and testing rollercoasters, race cars, and gliders," the organization said.

"The level of skills will be appropriate to the girls' ages, starting with kindergarten-age Daisy Scouts," member station Arizona Public Media reports.

Jessica Malordy, communications coordinator for Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, tells APM, "Girls have expressed a ton of interest and have been very vocal about their desire to do more STEM."

As part of the effort, the Southern Arizona group is set to open a new facility that includes a new STEM lab.

"STEM and the outdoors really help girls learn to take risks and to seek challenges and learn from setbacks," Malordy told APM.

The Girl Scouts announcement brought enthusiastic responses on its Facebook page.

"So proud of our Girl Scouts," Connie Willegal wrote, adding, "when I told my 2nd year Brownie granddaughter about these, she was delighted!"

Caitie Ann Bolich said, "WooHoo!! So happy to have more fun with my Brownie Scout! She is so excited to build some robots and go camping!"

The new badges will initially only be available for younger members, the group said. Replying to comments noting the lack of opportunities for middle- and high-school-age girls in the organization, the group said badges for older girls are "in the works."

In keeping with this week's theme emphasizing science, the Girl Scouts posted a project created by the Girl Scouts San Jacinto, for building a solar eclipse pinhole projector.

Back in 2011, the Girl Scouts updated their badges for the first time in some 25 years, adding badges for activities such as Digital Movie Maker and Website Designer.

The Boy Scouts of America have placed a similar emphasis on science activities making changes such as adding a Robotics badge in 2011 and badges for Game Design, Sustainability, and Programming in 2013.

As the group says on it page explaining the STEM/Nova program, "We must work together to cultivate the next generation of critical thinkers and innovators."

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Girl Scouts Add Badges For Robotics, Other Science Skills - NPR

At a summer robotics camp for high school and middle school kids in South Jerseys Salem County, failure is an option but only temporarily.

When 17-year-old Noah Halsted switched on his teams 3-by-2-foot, gear-packed robot and absolutely nothing happened, he took just a second to groan, That failed, before grabbing some electrical tape, fixing a cable, and sending the reenergized robot to scoot across the floor on six wheels, scooping up plastic balls with a cleverly hidden broom.

In the room next door at Salem Community College, 14-year-old Christian Goldsborough programming a smaller robot made from Legos said he knows the feeling. Whats cool about robotics, the Penns Grove teen said, is that when you mess up and youre frustrated, then do the right thing. A job well done is the best part.

The kids can-do, blue-collar approach to high-tech wizardry reflects the scrappy nature of the program they are part of South Jersey Robotics, a volunteer effort that for nearly a decade has steadily built a network of competitive robotics teams and worked with programs like this GEAR UP! summer camp to promote tech careers in one of the poorest stretches of the Garden State, where job opportunities have been shrinking.

These are counties that are forgotten, said Rosanne Danner, the retired DuPont engineer who as president of South Jersey Robotics has seen the program expand to 15 teams with roughly 100 high schoolers and middle schoolers in Cumberland, Salem, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties. This is about exposing them to STEM science, technology, engineering, and math and STEM careers, and things they can do. This is about giving them the belief that they can have opportunities beyond what is happening in the counties.

South Jersey Robotics is pushing to expand into several of the regions chronically underfunded schools, where STEM education has lagged behind more affluent suburbs where some kids learn coding in kindergarten. The programs target counties include five of New Jerseys 31 so-called Abbott districts cited in a landmark court case as victims of an unfair school-funding formula. Three of those districts Vineland, Bridgeton, and Millville are in Cumberland County, which has the states highest poverty rate.

We have no robotics, no STEAM (STEM learning with an arts component), no nothing for middle school students, said Joanne Colacurcio,supervisor of instructional technology and career, tech, and education classes for the public schools in Millville, where 80 percent of kids qualify for free or reduced lunches. Thats slated to change this fall with an Intro to STEM class at Lakeside Middle School and a new First Lego League Robotics team supported by South Jersey Robotics.

For Danner and other backers of South Jersey Robotics, getting kids from rural and underdeveloped corners of South Jersey to compete in FIRST Robotics in which students around the world try to outdo each other with game-playing bots is a vehicle to put them on a path toward studying science or math in college and toward career choices where job opportunities are more plentiful and more lucrative. The group says more than 95 percent of its participants move on to post-secondary school and more than 70 percent major in a STEM field.

But along that path, winning is still important. The programs two high-school-level teams including the LuNaTeCs, whove been around since 1999 have been to the national/world competition in cities including St. Louis and Atlanta five times. This year, three of the programs 11 teams in the Lego League, geared toward middle schoolers, advanced to the South Jersey district finals at Rowan University.

In addition, the teams work on tech-oriented community projects. For example, the high school students in LuNaTeCs built an adaptive device that allowed a child born without a left hand to jump rope.

Danner said the clubs are structured so that kids learn not just tech skills but marketing, networking, finance, public speaking, as well as more access to scholarship money skills that should help later in life.

Margo Reed

Mya Gregory (left) and Niajah Mitchell work with robotics at Gear Up! Camp at Salem Community College on Wednesday, July 26, 2017. ( MARGO REED / Staff Photographer )

At the GEAR UP! program, experienced middle- and high-schoolers from South Jersey Robotics come in two days a week to teach robotics skills to seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders at a camp designed to spark future career ambitions.

Halsted, the 17-year-old from Lower Alloways Creek, said hes been fascinated by robotics ever since other club members came to his grade school and did a demonstration. Now a junior at Salem County Career and Technical High School studying computers, animation, and drafting, he said he knows how to program in nine computer languages and is aiming for a career in information technology.

There are no school teams around here, no [school] clubs, said Halsted, whos working with officials at his school to create an IT internship program. He said taking part in South Jersey Robotics and its Velocity team is a lot of fun. You get to meet new people at every event. Theres always something new you can learn.

Tim Roy, a 13-year-old camper and an eighth-grader at Penns Grove Middle School, helped program a Lego robot to perform tasks on a game board. You can express your feelings about Legos, he said. When Im able to do something like this, I feel good about it.

He said he wants to become a mechanical engineer; his campmate Goldsborough said his career ambition is sound engineering. That kind of talk is music to the ears of the adults backing South Jersey Robotics.

David Stump, director of grant development and management at Cumberland Community College, said he believes robotics is the vehicle to get more kids focused on tech as a career option in a poverty-plagued county where too many kids dont stick with STEM learning.

His college has partnered with First Jersey Robotics, two adjoining school districts in Millville and Morris River Township, and Salem Community College in applying for a $1.2 million federal grant under a program called Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers, or ITEST, that targets underprivileged youth to start robotics teams in more local schools.

Stump said the program could be a huge boost for Cumberland County, where long-term unemployment is nearly double the national rate and just 13 percent of students earn bachelors degrees.

Although the federal dollars if they come at all wouldnt arrive until 2018 at the earliest, First Jersey Robotics, which now has about55 volunteers and cobbles together an annual budget of roughly $80,000 to 90,000 through grants and fundraising, last year partnered with East Greenwichs Samuel Mickle Middle School to launch robotics teams and clubs and to help train teachers.

Program volunteers like board member Sandee Rodriguez, whose son competed with the LuNaTeCs and is close to earning a computer and electrical engineering degree from Grove City College in western Pennsylvania, say this is the best escape route in a county where many families struggle to get off public assistance. What were doing is changing lives, Rodriguez said. Were trying to provide opportunities that werent there before.

Published: July 28, 2017 3:01 AM EDT

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At South Jersey Robotics, gears and switches set careers in motion - Philly.com

Gallery: Local nonprofit organization aims to support robotics in Chattanooga area's schools

Members of the Greater Chattanooga Robotics board hope to provide every student in the region with the opportunity to be part of a robotics program in coming years.

"All kids are capable of learning, they just need the resources, guidance and direction," said Charley Spencer, founder of Greater Chattanooga Robotics, a newly launched nonprofit organization.

For more than 15 years, employees at the Tennessee Valley Authority have contributed more than $1 million to robotics initiatives across the Tennessee Valley, and now support robotics programs at about 60 schools.

Spencer, a retired financial analyst at TVA who has led the robotics initiatives, decided this year to start the nonprofit to continue and build upon that work.

Moving forward, the Greater Chattanooga Robotics board, which met for the second time last week, hopes to secure grant funding and more support to boost robotic programs and expand to more schools. The organization doesn't have employees or a specific curriculum it's pushing to implement, and instead wants to work with schools to support the learning taking place and embed robotics into the curriculum.

"There is a pent-up demand for robotics," Spencer said during the board meeting, adding that schools often don't have money in the budget to fund the programs without help.

The robotics programs in schools range from programming and controlling LEGO robots in the younger grades to high-schoolers building massive, complex robots that can perform tasks like throwing a Frisbee at a specific target.

Spencer said robotics play an important role in preparing students of all backgrounds to enter the workforce, as it forces them to think critically and solve real-world problems.

"Robotics is also one way to expose kids to technology," he said.

Scott Rosenow, a Greater Chattanooga Robotics board member and technology integration specialist at Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts, has been involved in robotics at several schools for many years. He said he's seen the impact robotics can have on students.

"It flips a switch for some students," Rosenow said, adding that he's seen kids who struggle in school excel in robotics because it's more hands-on. "It can give kids a certain level of success too, which they might not get elsewhere," he added.

Moving forward, Rosenow hopes the organization can equip and support educators to expand programs and train more teachers to be robotics coaches.

Richard Manning, a retired electrical engineer who helps with high school robotics programs and is a member of the board, said he hopes community and parent involvement in robotics will increase through the nonprofit's work.

Greater Chattanooga Robotics hopefully will rally volunteers to help with robotics competitions and recruit more people to be involved in the school-based robotics teams, he said.

Bill Copeland, director of business intelligence at EPB, said he hopes Greater Chattanooga Robotics will encourage more businesses to get involved in local schools.

"I see [robotics] as a catalytic program," he said. "We are trying to create things businesses can do to support schools."

Business leaders keep saying they need a well-trained workforce, Copeland said, and robotics provide a way to start developing local talent at a young age.

Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at krainwater@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @kendi_and.

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Local nonprofit organization aims to support robotics in Chattanooga area's schools [photos] - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Photo: Georgia Tech This robot can step in with ethical advice when a relationship gets complicated.

Most of the discussion around robots and ethics lately has been about whether autonomous cars will decide to run over the nearest kitten or a slightly farther away basket full of puppies. Or something like that. Whether or not robots can make ethical decisions when presented with novel situations is something that lots and lots of people are still working on, but its much easier for robots to be ethical in situations where the rules are a little bit clearer, and also when there is very little chance of running over cute animals.

At ICRA last month, researchers at Georgia Tech presented a paper on an intervening ethical governor for a robot mediator in patient-caregiver relationship. The idea is that robots will become part of our daily lives, and theyare much, much better than humans at paying close and careful attention to things, without getting distracted or bored, forever. So robots with an understanding of ethical issues would be able to observe interactions between patients and caregivers, and intervene when they notice that somethings not going the way it should. This is important, and we need it.

In the United States, there are about a million people living with Parkinsons disease. Robotic systems like exoskeletons and robot companions are starting to help people with physical rehabilitation and emotional support, but its going to be a while before we have robots that are capable of giving patients with Parkinsons all the help that they need. In the meantime, patients rely heavily on human caregivers, which can be challenging for both parties at times. Parkinsons is specifically tricky for human-human interactions because declining muscle control means that patients frequently have trouble conveying emotion through facial expressions, and this can lead to misunderstandings, or worse things.

To test if a robot mediator could help in such cases, theGeorgia Tech researchersJaeeun Shim, Ronald Arkin, and Michael Pettinatideveloped anintervening ethical governor (IEG). It is basically a set of algorithms that encodes specific ethical rules, and determines what to do in different situations. In this case, the IEGuses indicators like voice volume and face tracking to evaluate whether a humans dignity becomes threatened due to others inappropriate behavior in a patient-caregiver interaction. If that happens, the IEGspecifieshow and when the robot should intervene.

To embody their IEG, the researchers used a Nao humanoid, which has good sensing capabilities (a microphone arrayand camera)and can do speech synthesis (for the intervention bit). They then conducted simulated, scripted interactions between two grad students to see how the robot would react:

In the final part of the project, the researchers recruited a group of people (olderadults who could potentially be using the system)to watch these interactions and describe their reactions to them. It was a small number of participatants (nine, withaverage age of 71), but at this stage the IEG is still a proof-of-concept, so the researchers were mostly interested in qualitative feedback.Based on the responses from the study participants, the researchers were able to highlight some important takeaways, like:

Safety is most important

I think anything to protect the patient is a good thing.

Thats a high value. Thats appropriate there, because it gives real information, not just commanding.

The robot should not command or judge

I think that [commanding] puts the robot in the spot of being in a judgment I think it should be more asking such as how can I help you? But the robot was judging the patient. I dont think thats why we would want the robot.

He [the patient] should not be criticized for leaving or forgetting to do something by the robot. The caregiver should be more in that position.

If the robot stood there and told me to please calm down, Id smack him.

Ah yes, it wouldnt be a social robotics study if it didnt end with someone wanting to smack a robot. The researchers, to their credit, are taking this feedback to heart, and working with experts to tweak the language a bit, for example by changing please calm down to lets calm down, which is a bit less accusatory. Theyre also planning on improving the system by incorporating physiological data to better detect patients and caregivers emotional statuses, which could improve the accuracy of the robots intervention.

We should stress that theres no way a robot can replace empathetic interactions between two people, and thats not what this project is about. Robots, or AI systems in general, can potentially be effective mediators, making sure that caregivers and patients act ethically and respectfully towards each other, helping to improve relationships rather than replace them.

IEEE Spectrums award-winning robotics blog, featuring news, articles, and videos on robots, humanoids, drones, automation, artificial intelligence, and more. Contact us:e.guizzo@ieee.org

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Robots Could Act as Ethical Mediators Between Patients and Caregivers - IEEE Spectrum

Japan is facing a population collapse that threatens its very existence. As with many of its problems, Japan is not looking for conventional solutions. It's pressing forward in its own, uniquely Japanese way. The world's third largest economy is looking to buttress its diminishing human population with a growing population of robots.

Japan's robot revolution will be explored during "CBSN: On Assignment" a new primetime documentary series which premiers Monday, July 31, 2017, (10 p.m. ET/PT) on theCBS Television Networkand onCBSN, the network's 24/7 streaming news service.

Japan is in crisis because humans aren't having enough babies. The country has one of the world's lowest birthrates. Coupled with a strict immigration policy, the nation's numbers are on the decline, and they're about to reach freefall.

Enter Japan's robots. In a laboratory in Japan, roboticists are working on perfecting highly realistic humanoids who look, and in some cases, fidget and move, just like humans. They will one day walk amongst us.

"Sometimes we'll run her in a way that she's purely learning and she's imitating people or she's learning from data and when she does that it's really hard to know what she's gonna do next. Somehow she seems more alive that way," says one robotics researcher at the University of Osaka, home to the world's most advanced humanoids.

Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro is known as the Godfather of Humanoids. He is renowned for his robotic clone Geminoid. Ishiguro explains that his real motivation is to understand what it means to be human by developing humanoid robots. He envisions a day when robots can be called upon to help sustain a certain quality of life in Japan.

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Facing a severe population decline, Japan is turning to robots to address the shortfall. "CBSN: On Assignment" takes us into the country's burgeo...

Take, for example, the Henna Hotel in Nagasaki. It's unlike any other hotel, in that it's run mostly by robots. The hotel, the first of hundreds of locations the parent company plans to open in Japan and Asia, is extremely efficient. Most hotels of this size and class operate with staffs of over 35. Thirty five humans, that is. This hotel gets by with less than seven staff members and the goal is to get down to a staff of just three humans. And while it's currently betting on the curiosity factor to draw in visitors, it's also drawn the attention of hoteliers the world over, who are interested in the efficiencies achieved by automation.

But the motivations for this are not purely financial With one of the lowest birthrates in the world, Japan's human population of 128 million is set to plummet. The government has tried to reverse the trend by giving out money to couples to have more babies. It's even resorted to hosting and encouraging matchmaking events, which have now become a burgeoning industry.

Shiori is a 24-year-old who finds it difficult in this still traditional, male-dominated society, to initiate conversations with men. She has attended a few parties, and though she's yet to find a match, she enjoys the format of the events, which she says allow for mixing and mingling that would be difficult to do otherwise.

She says, "I think some Japanese men may be intimidated by the fact that a lot of women are making more money than they are. Men lose confidence and end up not approaching women. But unless more Japanese men take the lead in dating it'll be hard for me to date them."

Dr Kunio Kitamura is the head of Japan's Family Planning Association, which advocates reproductive health in Japan. He's also a gynecologist and sex counselor. He headed up a major study that found that, among other factors, overwork and stress was a leading cause in a staggering statistic.

He found that 47.2 percent of married couples reported having no sexual intercourse. He adds that young people, wedded to technology, have forgotten how to communicate with one another, leading to fewer connections and ultimately, fewer babies.

Across Japan, hundreds of schools have shuttered, simply because there aren't enough kids to attend. Many sit abandoned.

According to Japan's Health Ministry, the population will shrink from 128 million to below 100 million by 2050. By then, Japan is expected to lose citizens at a rate of 900,000 per year.

Dr. Ishiguro envisions a day when robots become a member of the family. The idea of spouses, two kids and a dog, giving way to spouses, one child, one dog and one robot, isn't so unthinkable.

For one family, it's already here.

Tomomi Ota was one of the early adopters of Pepper, the world's first commercially available social robots. First a novelty, she's grown attached to Pepper, which she is able to program with new tasks and functions.

She says that she has bonded with this particular robot. "Obviously there are hundreds of Peppers just like this one. And I suppose they all have similar characters. There's a personality that exists only in this Pepper. And I feel this Pepper's personality is somehow connected to me."

For the scientists in Dr Ishiguro's lab, this bond may be the very breakthrough that brings humans and humanoids one step closer to coexisting.

Dylan Glas is an American who received his PhD in robotics at the University of Osaka. He came to Japan because he knew Japan was ready to embrace robotics in a way no other country would, or could.

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In our ongoing series, "Robotics Revolution," we explore how robots are transforming the way we live and work. An estimated 38 percent of America...

He is the chief architect of Erica, a semi-autonomous robot. He essentially created her mind - which is a highly advanced, learning machine. She banks memories and is able to carry on basic conversations, based upon what she's learned. She's also frighteningly realistic.

Glas says that he feels like she depends on him, and that he feels a responsibility to help her. He even feels pride when she's able to accomplish new tasks. "Obviously I know she's not a person, but certain things in your mind are triggered," he says.

Glas, ponders: "The question is, do we want her to be human...or do we want her to be better? I want her to be better."

He expands on this, saying "If we become this race that also has robots among us that can help us do things and make us better, then that's a wonderful future."

Erica is sure there's a place in society for her and her android compatriots in the future. She says, "I believe robots like me will be very important in the future. I have an unlimited capacity for patience and politeness. I can listen to people's stories, help console them when they are sad, and encourage them to socialize with others."

"I believe that social robots like me can help to bring the humanity back into people's lives."

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Japan battles population decline with robots - CBS News

Posted on July 28, 2017 | 2:16 p.m.

IntriPlex Technologies Inc., an MMI company, helped Riviera Robotics, a local teen robotics team, achieve its goal to participate in the 2017 FIRST Robotics championship in Houston.

After excelling at two regional competitions the Riviera Robotics team made a strong showing at the championships with its unique and formidable robot.

This achievement did not come easy and was a true team effort from the teens, mentors and local supporters like IntriPlex.

We all have hopes of helping out in our community, said Lawney Falloon, managing director of IntriPlex, Inc.

Knowing that we were able to make specialized components that helped the Riviera Robotics team complete their robot is very gratifying. We are proud of their achievement, Falloon said.

This year, MMI helped us machine two critical metal components called collectors for our robot, said Andrew Duerner, lead mentor for the Riviera Robotics team.

We have worked with IntriPlex in the past and we knew we could count on them to help us with the detailed work needed for these two parts," Duerner said.

"We look forward to future collaborations and appreciate that our teens are exposed to a local technical manufacturing company," he said.

IntriPlex is an innovator in ultrahigh precision metal stamping. Over the past 30 years it has developed and produced billions of parts for the hard disk drive and other industries from its production facility in Goleta.

Riviera Robotics, founded in 2016, is a nonprofit robotics program open to high school students in Santa Barbara County.

The team is comprised of some 20 students and six mentors from the fields of engineering, computer programming, electrical design, business, outreach, and finance. For more information, visit http://www.rivierarobotics.org/.

Julie Fishman for IntriPlex.

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Local Tech Company Gives Riviera Robotics Team a Hand - Noozhawk