US First Team 2817 the Bluff City Bots – the robot comes alive (the first test of the electronics mounted on the robot.
For More info visit there website at http://bluffcitybots.info/.
The Technology Student Association (TSA) and Innovation First International Announce a Partnership to Introduce a Signature Robotics Competition Using the VEX Robotics Design System
Competition to Further Stimulate Middle School and High School Student Interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
GREENVILLE, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Innovation First International, creators of the largest and fastest growing middle and high school robotics program, and the Technology Student Association (TSA), a national organization dedicated to increasing technological literacy in middle school and high school students, today announced the creation of a national robotics competition that will bring Innovation First’s VEX Robotics Design System to 150,000 TSA students across the country.
The TSA VEX Robotics Competition will provide students with a hands-on co-curricular competition for learning about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and will complement the existing technology-related competitions offered by TSA. TSA VEX Robotics tournaments will be conducted in conjunction with the organization’s state conferences beginning in spring 2010 in approximately ten states followed by a championship event at the National TSA Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, which will be held on June 28 through July 2, 2010. TSA anticipates additional states will host events in the 2010-2011 school year.
Groundhog Day: PETA wants to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robot
Christian Science Monitor
By Chris Gaylord / February 1, 2010
Punxsutawney Phil, Groundhog Day’s mascot, may get an early retirement and a cyborg doppelganger, if PETA has its way.
With Groundhog Day just a few hours away, eyes turn toward Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania. Tuesday, Punxsutawney Phil will waddle from his hole, look for his shadow, and announce whether winter will tighten its grasp or step aside for Spring.
But this year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) thinks it’s time for the nation’s hairiest weatherman to enjoy an early retirement. PETA’s proposal: instead of parading and manhandling the wee groundhog, replace ol’ Phil with a robot.
It’s time to consider “retiring Phil to a sanctuary and replacing him with an electronic groundhog,” says the official PETA blog. “Phil is forced to be on display year round at the local library and is denied the ability to prepare for and enter yearly hibernation…. Add to that the displeasure of large, screaming crowds, flashing lights of cameras, and human handling.”
Animatronics have come a long way – last year, the Horizons blog even joked that President Obama should consider a robot dog. Rather than look for its shadow, an iPhil could analyze the latest weather patterns, perhaps even project how global warning might permanently usher in an early Spring.
Yet, won’t a Phil-bot lack the cuddly charm of a real groundhog?
One PETA commenter thought so: “I think retiring Phil is not the best idea. Is living at a library with children who love him and show him affection that horrible?” asks Adam in response to the post. “He would suffer more hardship back in the wild then continuing what he has been doing his whole life. Also when you say screaming crowds, who is screaming? He’s not Bono.”
The Altoona (Penn.) Mirror, located 90 minutes southeast of Punxsutawney, ran an editorial today denouncing the proposed robot outsourcing. “We agree with William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, who said Phil is ‘being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania.’ Indeed, Phil is treated like a king, surely the envy of all of his fellow groundhogs.”
PETA’s animals-in-entertainment specialist, Gemma Vaughan, wrote to Mr. Deeley that “These normally shy animals — who are constantly on alert when they are out of their burrows — become stressed when they are exposed to large, screaming crowds; flashing lights from perhaps hundreds of cameras; and human handling…. Other popular exhibitions have featured robotic penguins and dolphins who swim and communicate just like real animals do, and we think that an animatronic groundhog would similarly mesmerize a crowd full of curious spectators in Punxsutawney.”
Another commenter, Bri, supported PETA’s idea, saying that “I think it is a good idea to retire Phil. Yeah, sure he is living a great life, but that life was not naturally meant to be for him. It would be like keeping a bear in your house to keep as a pet, when it should be in the wild. Phil is not a domesticated animal. He is a groundhog. Living with humans is not natural to a wild animal.”
A number of High Schools in the Memphis area are participating in the First Robotics Competition
Team 2817 – The Bluff City Bots is made up of students from Hamilton High, Booker T. Washington High, Fairly High School and George Washington Carver High Schools.
Team 3214 – High Tech Hounds from Fairly High School
Team 3227 – Bullbots from Cordova High School
Team 3109 – GA Robotics from Grizzlies Academy
The build season is well underway (and the links above will allow you to track their progress).
I am once again mentoring the Bluff City Bots, and if you are reading this blog, I encourage you to get involved (since you obviously like Robots!) Lets support our local schools in this effort.
Washington Post
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Mars rover Spirit will rove the red planet no more.
That’s because the six-wheeled vehicle that was sent to Mars along with its twin rover, Opportunity, in 2004 got stuck in a Martian sand trap and NASA hasn’t been able to get it unstuck. Two of the rover’s wheels are no longer working.
“Spirit’s driving days are likely over,” said Doug McCuistion of the space agency’s Mars Exploration Program.
Still, Spirit’s ride has been a historic one.
Spirit and Opportunity cost $820 million to build and send to Mars, where they were supposed to be able to explore for three months. Spirit investigated lava hills and plains on the planet, and Opportunity found evidence of water in sedimentary rock lining the planet’s craters.
Scientists hope that, even in its stuck state, Spirit will be able to measure Martian gravity to determine if the planet is solid or liquid at its core
Today, Memphis City Schools hosted a regional UsFirst Kickoff for the 2010 season. This year’s competition is called Break-A-Way and involves soccer balls. Instead of me explaining it, let’s go to the video:
There are three teams in Memphis, and we are still in need of MENTORS to help out. Students only have 6 weeks to build so they can use all the help they can get. If you can help out with Programming (Java, C/C++, LabVIEW), mechanical design, building (working with tools, cutting metal etc.), web design, promotion, or just help out with pizza for starving students…anything! Please contact Jada Ask at askewjada@mcsk12.net.
Also check out the team website for Team 2817 “The Bluff City Bots”.
Update on previous post….
I tried all morning to get my order in. No Luck – SERVER BUSY. Just got in and the banner said all $100,000 was gone in 1h 44m 50s.