Ive been helping the local high schools FIRST Robotics team for a decade, although not technically theyve got real engineers. I write and put together the kids parody musical as part of their fund-raising night, and they are much better than youre thinking right now.<\/p>\n
COVID-19 has, of course, upended the whole program, which has gone global since Dean Kamen started it in a New Hampshire gym in 1992, and Im not sure whats happening this year. Very sad: Tons of geeky kids itching to get their hands on gears, belts, wheels and software are stranded!<\/p>\n
So I enjoyed a story in the Valley News (read it here) about a local FIRST Robotics team helping doctors make telepresence robots for patients. The idea is pretty simple: Put an iPad with camera at eye level atop a tall stick and have it drive around on a remote-controlled stand. Lots of them exist in various forms, and the pandemic has boosted their use.<\/p>\n
But the devils in the details, such as how to attach things.<\/p>\n
One of my students came up with the idea to use magnets, said James Cole-Henry, a mechanical engineer at Lebanon-based Fujifilm Dimatix who is also head coach for the Grasshoppers, the FIRST robotics team at the Hartford Area Career Technical Center. I was a little embarrassed. At work Im like Mr. Magnet.<\/p>\n
But wait, you say, wouldnt a magnet mess up the iPad? Youll have to read the story to see the answer.<\/p>\n
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See more here: <\/p>\n
How to make one of those iPad telepresence robots? Magnets! - Concord Monitor<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ive been helping the local high schools FIRST Robotics team for a decade, although not technically theyve got real engineers. I write and put together the kids parody musical as part of their fund-raising night, and they are much better than youre thinking right now. COVID-19 has, of course, upended the whole program, which has gone global since Dean Kamen started it in a New Hampshire gym in 1992, and Im not sure whats happening this year. Continue reading