| Robot competitors crash into UC Davis
Hundreds of high school students, proudly donning their schools' brightly colored T-shirts and hats and accompanied by dozens of boisterous supporters, stormed the UC Davis campus armed with various custom robots for the 2007 FIRST Robotics Competition Davis Sacramento Regional on Mar. 30.
The university, host of the event for a third consecutive year, welcomed 39 high school teams from four states to the ARC Pavilion.
FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology, is an organization dedicated to encouraging young people to pursue careers in science and technology. It coordinates the annual robotics competition with regional events throughout the country and the FIRST Championship, which will be held in Atlanta's Georgia Dome from Apr.
Robots fueled by brains
Tlachtli's base was buffered with pink, plastic water noodles attached with brown surgical tape, and its arm was reinforced with plywood, scavenged from the George Washington High School drama department. Even with this unconventional construction, Tlachtli - built by students from George Washington High School and the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning, both in Denver - battled its way to 13th place out of 48 teams at Saturday's competition. "We've been one of the underdogs," said Emily Sigman, 18, a George Washington senior. "When you start with no expectations, you can say, 'Look at us; we're still building our robot, but we're going forward,"' she said. The regional championship of the FIRST Robotics Competition, at the University of Denver's Magness Arena, was the last stop before the national competition in Atlanta on April 12.
Two Nordson Corporation-Sponsored Teams Compete in FIRST Robotics ...
WESTLAKE, Ohio, April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Two high school teams sponsored by Nordson Corporation (NASDAQ: NDSN) participated in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics championship held recently in Atlanta, Ga. The Nordson-sponsored Northview High School team from Duluth, Ga., and Middletown Public School team from Middletown, R.I., each qualified in regional rounds and competed in the FIRST Championship. The Middletown team made it to the quarter finals before being eliminated. In addition to the Georgia and Rhode Island teams, Nordson also sponsored teams from San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas, Calif. and Lorain Admiral King High School in Lorain, Ohio. Nordson provided each of the four teams with a $6,000 grant.
Robot roses and hail from Hell
Video-sharing website YouTube has some of the most outrageously funny, thought-provoking, and surreal videos you'll ever find in one space. Every week we're going to feature some of the best (and worst) videos to be found on YouTube, so come check here regularly! This week we're introduced to a dog with a serious licking problem, a robot getting a whiff of roses, and motorists getting trapped in the hailstorm from Hell (except that it's cold, not hot... come to think of it, that doesn't really make any sense, does it?) "Charles Has A Licking Problem," by drewtoothpaste. "Very Large Hail," by cld9trs. "Rosebot," by LukeBradford3. These, and other, videos are all available at www.youtube.com.
Mt. Hope students will compete at NE Tech robotics competition
BRISTOL/WARREN - Fear not humanity, these robots are your friends. In the movies, robots are often seen attacking people, destroying cities or overthrowing governments. But the 17-inch, 20-pound robot that a team of Mt. Hope High School students have been busily building does nothing like that. "The arms actually lift balls up," said Mt. Hope High School junior Corey Lescault. "Our best time so far is 30 seconds, that's from a stand still position to pushing the balls and picking them up." The local students are competing in Rhode Island's FIRST VEX Challenge on Saturday, at the New England Institute of Technology in Warwick. For over a month, Mt. Hope High School students Corey Lescault and Geoff Hawley worked with four fellow students to create a robot that can lift up softballs and drop them into a 24-inch bin.
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