San Gabriel Valley Tribune
May 21, 2013
By Richard Irwin, Staff Writer
Walnut Valley students compete in Robot Expo at Fairplex
The Walnut students were real fireballs and the Pomona kids weren't far behind in the Robot Expo at the Fairplex on Monday morning. The fun competition is part of Cal Poly Pomona's School Robotics Initiative.
In fact, Team Fireball from Suzanne Middle School won the gold medal in the Gate Crasher contest with an amazing time of 6.967. In the close competition, students have to program their robots to pass through a gate in 7 seconds.
Easier said then done, when the students have to calculate the circumference of their robot's wheels, estimate the gear ratio they should use and program the power running through the little electric motors. But the Fireball team seemed to have mastered the engineering challenge. Team captain Augustus Rodriguez worked with classmates Adel Nasir and Abdul Rahman Ali to build the winning robot.
"I built our robot, while Adel programmed it," said 12-year-old Abdul. "It was interesting to work with robots in school." The little machines force the students to focus on science and math.
"The students have to apply their math and science skills to build their robots, which motivates them to do better in school," explained Nicole Forrest Boggs, director of development for the College of Education at Cal Poly Pomona. Since 2006, the university has worked with elementary and middle school students in the two districts to develop an innovative robotics curriculum.
"We started with two schools and this year we serve six schools and more than 450 students in grades four through eight," Boggs said. "It ties in with the new California Common Core Standards." The youngsters use LEGO Mindstorm NXT kits to design their robots. The kits contain everything the children need to build a robot -- computer brain, wheels, gears, arms and bodies. The young robotists use laptops to program their bots. At the end of the school year, they gather to challenge each other at the Robot Expo.
"It's just a lot of fun for the students," said Joan Perez, principal at Collegewood Elementary in Walnut. "And they learn so much from this hands-on approach to technology and math." The Collegewood kids did well, winning second and third place in Sumo Wrestling. Kingsley Elementary in Pomona took the gold. In this competition, the tiny bots grapple with each other in a four-foot circle. The goal is to force your opponent outside the white line. "We put in a light sensor so the robots can see the white line and turn back into the circle," said 11-year-old Lily McGill, a fifth grader at Evergreen Elementary. Classmate Matthew Lioe, 11, said they also used ultrasonic sensors to guide their robots.
Principal Carolyn Wills pointed out this is the first year for robotics at the Diamond Bar school. Wills said more than 100 fifth graders worked with the robots. "It costs us $14,000 to buy robot kits for one classroom, so I'm always looking for contributions," Boggs said. "We're lucky to have sponsors like Verizon and Toyota, as well as groups like the Walnut PTA."
Shown:
Collegewood Elementary students cheer on their robot during a sumo wrestling match at Cal Poly Pomona's Robot Expo at LA Fairplex in Pomona. (Walt Mancini/Staff Photographer)
Karen Su, left, Ethan Wei, and Terry Kim of Evergreen Elementary in Walnut Valley programming their teams robots during competition. Cal Poly Pomona's Robotics Initiative invited 200 elementary and middle school students to a Robot Expo at LA Fairplex in Pomona Monday, May 20, 2013. (SGVN/Photo by Walt Mancini)
May 21, 2013
By Richard Irwin, Staff Writer
Walnut Valley students compete in Robot Expo at Fairplex
The Walnut students were real fireballs and the Pomona kids weren't far behind in the Robot Expo at the Fairplex on Monday morning. The fun competition is part of Cal Poly Pomona's School Robotics Initiative.
In fact, Team Fireball from Suzanne Middle School won the gold medal in the Gate Crasher contest with an amazing time of 6.967. In the close competition, students have to program their robots to pass through a gate in 7 seconds.
Easier said then done, when the students have to calculate the circumference of their robot's wheels, estimate the gear ratio they should use and program the power running through the little electric motors. But the Fireball team seemed to have mastered the engineering challenge. Team captain Augustus Rodriguez worked with classmates Adel Nasir and Abdul Rahman Ali to build the winning robot.
"I built our robot, while Adel programmed it," said 12-year-old Abdul. "It was interesting to work with robots in school." The little machines force the students to focus on science and math.
"The students have to apply their math and science skills to build their robots, which motivates them to do better in school," explained Nicole Forrest Boggs, director of development for the College of Education at Cal Poly Pomona. Since 2006, the university has worked with elementary and middle school students in the two districts to develop an innovative robotics curriculum.
"We started with two schools and this year we serve six schools and more than 450 students in grades four through eight," Boggs said. "It ties in with the new California Common Core Standards." The youngsters use LEGO Mindstorm NXT kits to design their robots. The kits contain everything the children need to build a robot -- computer brain, wheels, gears, arms and bodies. The young robotists use laptops to program their bots. At the end of the school year, they gather to challenge each other at the Robot Expo.
"It's just a lot of fun for the students," said Joan Perez, principal at Collegewood Elementary in Walnut. "And they learn so much from this hands-on approach to technology and math." The Collegewood kids did well, winning second and third place in Sumo Wrestling. Kingsley Elementary in Pomona took the gold. In this competition, the tiny bots grapple with each other in a four-foot circle. The goal is to force your opponent outside the white line. "We put in a light sensor so the robots can see the white line and turn back into the circle," said 11-year-old Lily McGill, a fifth grader at Evergreen Elementary. Classmate Matthew Lioe, 11, said they also used ultrasonic sensors to guide their robots.
Principal Carolyn Wills pointed out this is the first year for robotics at the Diamond Bar school. Wills said more than 100 fifth graders worked with the robots. "It costs us $14,000 to buy robot kits for one classroom, so I'm always looking for contributions," Boggs said. "We're lucky to have sponsors like Verizon and Toyota, as well as groups like the Walnut PTA."
Shown:
Collegewood Elementary students cheer on their robot during a sumo wrestling match at Cal Poly Pomona's Robot Expo at LA Fairplex in Pomona. (Walt Mancini/Staff Photographer)
Karen Su, left, Ethan Wei, and Terry Kim of Evergreen Elementary in Walnut Valley programming their teams robots during competition. Cal Poly Pomona's Robotics Initiative invited 200 elementary and middle school students to a Robot Expo at LA Fairplex in Pomona Monday, May 20, 2013. (SGVN/Photo by Walt Mancini)