Memphis Public Libraries invites parents and students to attend one of our Virtual Recruitment Days for our Community Robotics Team, the Memphis MechWarriors! Parents and students are invited to two opportunities, December 7th or 8th from 3pm-5pm to hear more about the team and how they can be involved.
This opportunity is open to Memphis/Shelby County residents ages 14-18. The Memphis MechWarriors team #4764 is an official FRC team under FIRST Robotics. Our community based team of high school students are challenged to build industrial-size robots and compete with students all over the world. This is great for students interested in a top STEM based program. All skill levels are welcomed and needed, technical or non-technical. Register Here! for more information please reach out to us at cloud901team@gmail.com.
Ready for another exciting FIRST @ Home activity? Learn programming basics with Amazon in this year’s Amazon Cyber Robotics Challenge. Recommended for grades 4 and above, see if you can code an Amazon Hercules robot to deliver your friend’s birthday present on time. Join the free, 3-hour virtual challenge for a chance to win $250 in classroom supplies, and become an #AmazonFutureEngineer
From: EDN
Sep 13, 2019
by Suzanne Deffree
Weighing in at more than a ton and storing 5MB of data, the IBM 305 RAMAC was the first supercomputer with a hard disk drive (HDD).
Introduced by IBM on September 13, 1956, RAMAC stood for “random access method of accounting and control” and used a moving head HDD (magnetic disk storage) for secondary storage.
So large that it had to be moved by forklift and transported by plane, the original 305 RAMAC computer system could be housed in a room of about 9×15 meters. The 350 disk storage unit itself measured around 1.5 square meters.
The machine stored 5 million 8-bit (7 data bits plus 1 parity bit) characters, the equivalent of 64,000 punch cards, on 50 24-inch magnetic disks. Two independent access arms under servo control moved up and down to select a disk and in and out to select a recording track. The average time to locate a single record was 600 milliseconds.
It has been said that in the years IBM produced RAMAC machines, the storage could have been increased, but Big Blue’s marketing department was against doing so because they did not see how such an amount of storage could be marketed.
IBM leased the RAMAC 305 system with 350 disk storage for $3,200 per month – a pretty penny in the 1950s but well worth it to companies investing hours and resources in archaic punch card systems. The first RAMAC to be used was in the US auto industry, installed at Chrysler’s MOPAR division in 1957.
More than 1,000 systems were built before production ended in 1961. The RAMAC became obsolete one year later when the IBM 1405 disk storage unit for the IBM 1401 was introduced. The 305 was withdrawn in 1969.
This IBM film tells the story of RAMAC:
From IEEE Spectrum
Rongzhong Li, who is responsible for the adorable robotic cat Nybble, has an updated and even more adorable quadruped that’s more robust and agile but only costs around US $200 in kit form on Kickstarter.
Looks like the early bird options are sold out, but a full kit is a $225 pledge, for delivery in December.
Running online from 26 September to 3 October, experience virtual booths with hands-on and interactive STEM content, special performances on the STEM Stage, earn badges and prizes in a scavenger hunt, and more.
More information at: https://connect.ieee.org/DGH300x0HPb00n0E3U3h0aY
