Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Toy Robot that Taught Science





"The 1950s Toy Robot Sensation That Time Forgot"

"Before Rosie and R2-D2 became pop culture icons, a humble toy named Robert paved the way.

In examining the history of famous robots, you'd be forgiven for overlooking a 1950s children's toy named Robert.


Robert the Robot, who was a product of the once-mighty Ideal Toy Company, didn't do much, at least compared to the standards set by science fiction at the time. Unlike the helpful humanoids of Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, Robert was just a 14-inch-tall hunk of plastic that could utter a few phrases, wheel around with a tethered remote control, and grip objects in his mechanical arms.


Still, Robert deserves credit for being the first plastic toy robot made in the United States, and the first toy robot to become an American sensation. He was the subject of children's songs, enjoyed a Hollywood film cameo, and was quickly imitated by rival toy makers. He also preceded the industrial robotics boom by several years, capturing people's imagination long before we truly understood what robots could do.






Robert maintained a high profile through copious advertising

Ta-Ta, Tin

Robert was not the first toy robot of the post-WWII era. That honor, according to Collectors Weekly, goes to Lilliput, a Japanese robot made of tin. After the war, tin lithograph toys were a popular export from American-occupied Japan, and Lilliput spawned plenty of successors.


But Robert was an American original, who according to Robotapedia was originally supposed to be a tie-in to the 1954 robot film Tobor the Great. Although Robert never appeared in the film, he received plenty of promotion on his own, debuting in the 1954 Sears Christmas catalog with an asking price of just under $6, or about $54 in 2016 dollars.


Instead of tin, Ideal used plastic injection molding—a process that itself rose to prominence during the war. Plastic was cheaper than tin or cast iron, and it allowed American companies like Ideal to produce their own toys instead of importing and reselling them.


"Robert was an answer to this massive amount of tin toys that were coming from Japan," says Justin Pinchot, a Los Angeles-based collector of vintage toy robots and ray guns. "It was really the beginning of the plastic era."






That's not to say Robert was some cheap knockoff. Cranking the handle on Robert's back caused him to speak ("I am Robert Robot, mechanical man. Drive me and steer me, wherever you can"), while a battery inside Robert's head allowed his eyes to light up. The cable-driven remote control was novel as well, using a hand crank for movement and a trigger for rotation.
Robert also had a unique aesthetic. As Pinchot points out, no one else was doing large robots with "skirted" lower sections at the time, and the look was quickly duplicated even in Japanese robots such as the "Gang of Five," who remain beloved by toy-robot collectors.
"A lot of these innovations were started here and picked up by Japan, so I think Robert was one of those. I'm sure he inspired a lot of tin stuff," Pinchot says.

The Mechanical Man

How popular was Robert the Robot? While verifiable sales figures are illusive, a September 1955 story in the Portsmouth Times of Portsmouth, Ohio, claimed that Robert was Ideal's biggest hit yet. Demand was so strong that Ideal started licensing T-shirts, flashlights, and other Robert-related merchandise, and when Shillito's Toyland opened in downtown Cincinnati in 1955, a 9-foot-tall Robert greeted customers on the sidewalk, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.




Robert cameos with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in There's Always Tomorrow
Robert never became an enduring pop culture icon despite his Hollywood origins, but he did enjoy some attention from the entertainment industry. The children's music label Cricket Records produced a pair of songs about him, and he made a short appearance in the Douglas Sirk melodrama There's Always Tomorrow, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray..."

Read the full article at its source:  https://www.fastcompany.com/3066169/robot-revolution/the-toy-robot-sensation-that-time-forgot 

Monday, December 5, 2016

Primary school student in Borneao wins mini robotics competition

Robotics competition increases student interest in STEAM





WINDHAM - Roughly a dozen people gathered around the plexiglass stadium to watch the fight, with more sitting in the bleachers.

All were eager to see who would be the reigning champion of the Vex Robotics Competition Holiday Classic at Pembroke Academy on Saturday.

The daylong event brought in primarily high school students from all across New England to compete for the chance to advance to next the round before going to the state competition in February. Some who have already qualified still came out to compete.

Educators say competitions like this are vital in efforts to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) fields.
- See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161204/NEWS19/161209771&source=RSS#sthash.ZUhYioXY.dpuf

Robotics competition increases student interest in STEAM





WINDHAM - Roughly a dozen people gathered around the plexiglass stadium to watch the fight, with more sitting in the bleachers.

All were eager to see who would be the reigning champion of the Vex Robotics Competition Holiday Classic at Pembroke Academy on Saturday.

The daylong event brought in primarily high school students from all across New England to compete for the chance to advance to next the round before going to the state competition in February. Some who have already qualified still came out to compete.

Educators say competitions like this are vital in efforts to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) fields.
- See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161204/NEWS19/161209771&source=RSS#sthash.ZUhYioXY.dpuf

Robotics competition increases student interest in STEAM






WINDHAM - Roughly a dozen people gathered around the plexiglass stadium to watch the fight, with more sitting in the bleachers.

All were eager to see who would be the reigning champion of the Vex Robotics Competition Holiday Classic at Pembroke Academy on Saturday.

The daylong event brought in primarily high school students from all across New England to compete for the chance to advance to next the round before going to the state competition in February. Some who have already qualified still came out to compete.

Educators say competitions like this are vital in efforts to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) fields.
- See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161204/NEWS19/161209771&source=RSS#sthash.ZUhYioXY.dpuf

Robotics competition increases student interest in STEAM




WINDHAM - Roughly a dozen people gathered around the plexiglass stadium to watch the fight, with more sitting in the bleachers.

All were eager to see who would be the reigning champion of the Vex Robotics Competition Holiday Classic at Pembroke Academy on Saturday.

The daylong event brought in primarily high school students from all across New England to compete for the chance to advance to next the round before going to the state competition in February. Some who have already qualified still came out to compete.

Educators say competitions like this are vital in efforts to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) fields.
- See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161204/NEWS19/161209771&source=RSS#sthash.ZUhYioXY.dpuf

"Primary school student wins mini robotics competition

Fourteen kids aged six to 15 participated in the Datuk Sebastian Ting Challenge Cup Mini Robotics Competition held in conjunction with 12th Miri Trade Fair (Mitraf 12) here on Sunday.



Primary school pupil Jaxon Moh emerged as the champion, while Yong Vin Cent placed second. Bong Zhen Yong came in third and six-year-old Sim Zhi Yang in fourth place.


Piasau assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting presented prizes to the winners.


Earlier when declaring the competition open, Ting also emphasised on the important role of parents in a child’s development and how much each child should value the experiences they go through when they are still young.


“Parents must find time to spend with their children no matter how busy they are so that the children do not feel left out. Every parent wants the best for their children and nurturing their kids from young is vital in the child’s development,” he said.


Praising the event organiser’s efforts, Ting hoped to see this event held again and able to attract more young innovators from around Miri.


“Going through a competition like this is a very valuable experience for these kids. Their young minds are very curious and willing to learn new things and I urge every parent to encourage their children and support their talent,” he said, adding he was proud to see the involvement of these young participants.
Ting also said parents should expose their kids to encourage them to be more creative and innovative as these are the ones that would be the country’s future innovators.

Participants in this competition made their own mini robots using Lego Mindstorms within a stipulated time. The judging was based on which was the stronger mini robot that could pull their opponent’s robot to the other side.


The challenge cup, which was being held at Mitraf for the first time, was organised by Quick Smart Tutoring Centre and Robowis, co-organised by See Hua Marketing (SHM) and sponsored by Sasbadi..."

Read the full story at its source: Borneo Post Online -  http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161204/NEWS19/161209771&source=RSS

Monday, November 28, 2016

LEGO Robots Win at World Robot Olympiad in India


"2 Taiwanese Teenagers Win World Robot Olympiad in India

W DELHI (AP) — Whizzing around a green felt table chasing a soccer ball beaming infrared light, the boxy robot shoots—and scores—and wins its Taiwanese teenage creators first prize at this year's student robot games.

The two breadbox-sized scooters, playing goalie and kicker, from the team called "Wings of Storm" were up against another Taiwanese team's robots in the "Football" category of the World Robot Olympiad held over the weekend in the Indian capital of New Delhi.

"We have been practicing since primary school," said Liaw Jia-wun, 15, thrilled to have won with his teammate. "We never in our lives could think that we would win the world championship."
Other categories at the robotics championships—attended by more than 450 teams from 50 countries—asked participants to create robotics solutions to reduce or recycle waste, leading teams to build robots that emptied trash bins or scooped up building debris for future use.

Some participants were as young as 6 years old, while others were approaching university graduation.
In the more advanced robotics category, robots had to be preprogrammed for the automated challenge of picking up mini bowling balls and knocking down pins. That meant the robots had to sense where the target was and hit it without any intervention from their creators.

The idea is to teach students computer programming as robotics moves beyond factory applications to everyday functions, said engineer Dominic Bruneau, the head coach for the Canadian teams.
"More and more, we will be interacting with robots" in our daily lives, Bruneau said. The student engineers are not just working on theory but are "doing practical work of building real stuff and trying to solve problems."

South African teacher and coach Nicky Du Plessis said the games helped kids develop key skills.
"We start with the fundamentals. We believe that if kids can start from a very young age ... it teaches them how to build," she said. "Then it teaches them logical thinking. How to change something quickly."

Read the full article at its source: 
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/robots/a24039/world-robot-olympiad/

Click on book cover for information

Click on book cover for information
Getting Started with LEGO Robotics. Anyone who works with kids can do LEGO Robotics, a rich and highly motivating platform for important STEM Learning! (surprisingly affordable, too) This books explains it all!

Sunday, November 27, 2016

CoderZ: An Appealing Student Robotics Approach

Looks like a powerful program... I find the Virtual AND/OR Real World Robots aspect to be appealing... I expect to investigate this one further and hope to provide an in-depth review here!

Mark





gocoderz.com + http://gocoderz.com/free-trial/

Monday, November 21, 2016

Former Ugandan Child Soldiers NOW High School Student Robotics Team Members

"Shoreline high school students mentor team from Uganda in robot building challenge"

 

SHORELINE, Wash. - It's a partnership born out of a shared love of robotics, but the students working together at King's High School in Shoreline couldn't have come from more different backgrounds.
All this week, five students from Beacon of Hope, a secondary school in Soroti, Uganda have been laboring with their mentors, the members of the King's High School CyberKnights robotics team, to build a robot for the First Tech Challenge competition.

It's a monumental step forward for the team from Uganda, whose members were once child soldiers, kidnapped from their families and forced to commit atrocities by Lord’s Resistance Army, the rebels fighting government forces in the country’s bloody civil war.

"The only thing I could see was death and at any time they could kill us," said Denish Odele, now 24, who was forced to learn to handle an AK-47 and had to survive by shooting people he knew.
He showed a scar the length of his forearm where a rebel commander cut it open with a bayonet after Denish didn't follow his order to find banana leaves for dinner.

For 40,000 children caught in the Ugandan civil war, hope was fleeting and survival was dim.
"We would not have any big dream," said Denish.


But then came a remarkable turnaround.


Denish was captured by government forces and beaten but survived. He made it to Beacon of Hope, run by Seattle based non-profit Pilgrim Africa. The intent of the school is to provide an educational opportunity for children caught in the civil war, many who survived without their parents..."
Read the full article at its source: http://komonews.com/news/local/shoreline-high-school-stude nts-mentor-team-from-uganda-in-robot-building-challenge 

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Robot Bees to Pollinate Crops?

A frightening response to what may turn out to be human-created decline of nature... humans applying technology to solve problems... GREAT! BUT, what follows? That they tell themselves they don't have to worry about being destructive any longer because their technology will solve it all? (reminds me of the mess we create with antibiotics)... is this a slippery slope to accelerated self destruction. 




"Tiny Flying Robots Are Being Built To Pollinate Crops Instead Of Real Bees

Honeybees, which pollinate nearly  one-third of the food we eat , have been dying at unprecedented rates because of a mysterious phenomenon known as  colony collapse disorder  (CCD). The situation is so dire that in late June the White House gave a  new task force  just 180 days to devise a coping strategy to protect bees and other pollinators. The crisis is generally attributed to a mixture of disease, parasites, and pesticides.  
Other scientists are pursuing a different tack: replacing bees. While there's no perfect solution,  modern technology offers hope.

Last year, Harvard University researchers led by engineering professor Robert Wood introduced the first RoboBees, bee-size robots with the ability to lift off the ground and hover midair when tethered to a power supply. The details were published in the journal Science. A coauthor of that report, Harvard graduate student and mechanical engineer Kevin Ma, tells Business Insider that the team is "on the eve of the next big development." Says Ma: "The robot can now carry more weight The project represents a breakthrough in the field of micro-aerial vehicles. It had previously been impossible to pack all the things needed to make a robot fly onto such a small structure and keep it lightweight.

Superthin robot wings flap 120 times a second. Harvard University

A Bee-Placement?
The researchers believe that as soon as 10 years from now these RoboBees could artificially pollinate a field of crops, a critical development if the commercial pollination industry cannot recover from severe yearly losses over the past decade.."

Read the full article at its source:  http://www.businessinsider.com/harvard-robobees-closer-to-pollinating-crops-2014-6

Robot Arm with LEGO Robotics Materials

 Another good piece on Making, Designing, Programming, and Understanding LEGO Robots from Mr. Hino...

Best Robots for Kids' Games, Fun and Learning?

Here's a very worthwhile piece from Fractus Learning... I think, though, that the LEGO Materials offer the most comprehensive and expansive opportunities for Student Robotics-based learning. Still, there is some very good coverage here of others that offer much value and possibility for students to learn through robots!

Mark 

"The Top 10 Best Robots for Kids: Games, Fun and Learning...

LEGO Robots to Learn Math

Looks like a good one... 
 

Friday, November 18, 2016

Robot Made Pizza - Is it Good?



"Can you taste the difference between a pizza made by a robot and a pizza made by a human?

At Zume Pizza, co-founder Julia Collins doesn't think so. Which is exactly why the Mountain View, California, company has decided to outsource part of the pizza-making process to general-purpose robots.
When a customer places an order through the website or the app, a human spreads the dough onto a conveyor belt. Robots squirt tomato sauce and spread it across the base before it reaches the next human, who covers it in toppings.


A six-axis ABB robot -- typically used for pallet-stacking operations in factories -- picks up the pizza and places it into the 800-degree oven.


Cameras and optical sensors track progress along the way so the robots know thickness, size and rate of travel as the pizza goes down the line. At maximum capacity, the system can produce up to 5,000 pizzas each day, though they're not quite there yet.


But the automation gets more interesting when pizzas are out for delivery in the specially designed truck..."

Read the full article at its source:  https://www.cnet.com/news/see-inside-a-robot-pizza-factory/

Student Robotics Learning Opportunity: Honda Robotics Contest

This Wonderful opportunity turned up in my
In Box this morning (
Education World Newsletter)
http://links.mkt1132.com/servlet/MailView?ms=MjcwNzkxOTQS1&r=MTA1MTk5NTE0NDA5S0&j=OTIyOTY2OTg2S0&mt=1&rt=0



Your Students or Club Can Win A Visit From Honda’s ASIMO!
For the first time, Honda is taking its philosophy of using the Power of Dreams to the classrooms with the Honda Robotics Contest. Students, clubs or other organizations can win a visit from Honda’s humanoid robot ASIMO by demonstrating your team’s vision of how robotics will affect the world by 2066. Video, photo and essay submissions are all encouraged. Organizations can submit up to three (3) entries.

Click HERE for contest rules and entry submission information. The entry deadline is January 10, 2017.

The U.S. is in danger of losing the international robot race - More Robotics Education is Needed... NOW!

We have to step up our game... increase, dramatically, the role that Student Robotics plays in the educational experience given to all students!

Mark Gura


Important article from

http://www.recode.net/2016/11/9/13546684/robot-experts-congress-invest-study

"Robotics experts tell Congress the U.S. is in danger of losing the international robot race

It’s time to invest. Big time.

Artificial intelligence is already everywhere. Robots are performing surgeries, courts use AI to help determine sentencing and bots trade on the stock market all day.
Last week, 150 academics and industry experts published the U.S. Roadmap for Robotics — just ahead of the presidential election — to help guide Congress as it moves to figure out how to allocate federal funds to encourage innovation, keep humans safe and, importantly, make sure America remains a global leader.
The first Roadmap for Robotics report, published in 2009, inspired the Obama administration to launch the National Robotics Initiative in 2011, a program that allocated $70 million to advancing robotics research in the United States.
The 2016 report is a 100-page tome packed with specific, technical recommendations that the contributors believe will be important for Congress to fund and support as robotics starts to take center stage across U.S. industries.
Here are a few of the recommendations:
  • For robotics systems to expand in manufacturing industries, roboticists need to develop interfaces that can be used by human workers with little to no training.
  • Researchers should build robots that match human mobility to “negotiate stairs, elevators, doorways, curbs, broken concrete, cluttered environments and go where people go” in order to extend automation beyond warehouse settings.
  • Surgical robots should eventually be able to “estimate user’s intent, rather than simply executing the user’s commands that may be subject to human imperfections.”
  • In 15 years, the roadmap suggests that autonomous driving “will be indistinguishable from humans except that robot drivers will be safer and more predictable than a human driver with less than one year’s driving experience.”

  • Highlight Robotics in Education.

 

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Canadian Kids Learn Math through Creating and Programming Robots!

Good piece from the Calgary Sun...

"CJA using robots to encourage STEM education among students with Robotics Centre of Excellence

CJA Robotics Centre for Excellence
CJA students program their robots and send them on missions as part of math class in the school’s new Robotics Centre for Excellence. 
It isn't often that you see any young student get excited when it's time for math class.
But at the Calgary Jewish Academy (CJA), students aren’t just excited for math — they’re excelling at it.
For all those teachers pulling their hair and parents throttling tutors, the secret is simple: robots.


"It’s awesome," Grade 5 CJA student Soly Spivak said as he watched his Lego robot weave its way around the classroom.


"We program it, and I can make it move from here to here. It’s easy."


But what do robots have to do with math?
CJA science teacher Jeff Warner was one of the visionaries behind the Robotics Centre of Excellence, a brand new program that incorporates STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math) into the school's daily curriculum.


Starting as early as Kindergarten, students are getting hands-on experience building robots, and more importantly, learning how to code them.


"The idea is to engage kids in learning specifically about robotics with a focus on programming," Warner said. "Coding is very much a growing trend in education — it’s a skill of the future."


When we hear the word coding, our minds often jump to savants or Hollywood hackers. But Warner said programming is a lot simpler than it’s made out to be.

"Programming is actually a ton of fun," he said. "And it’s really good for the brain because it’s just the pure distillation of logical problem solving."


Now with education sets like Lego Mindstorm and WeDo, it’s possible for kids as young as five to start understanding traditionally tougher subjects like math through basic computer programming...


"One of our goals with math is to make it practical," Warner said. "I give the students a robot and a mission, and they literally can’t solve the problem unless they work out certain numbers."..

Read the full article at its source: http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/11/13/cja-using-robots-to-encourage-stem-education-among-students-with-robotics-centre-of-excellence 


Sunday, November 6, 2016

Student Robotics for Girls!

Great article from EDUTOPIA... 

Girls and Robotics

Right now in education, it seems like everyone is talking about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Once again, our government has had a knee-jerk reaction to the success that other countries are having on international science and math tests. For many robotics coaches, this is all a bit "ho-hum." For decades, teams of students have been applying their knowledge of math, physics, electronics and computers to build machines that complete specific tasks and challenges. These teams have been working hand in hand with professional engineers as well as their teacher-coach, and they have been turning these experiences into internships at big-name companies and eventually into full-time careers.


I attended a FIRST Robotics League competition here in Philadelphia last year to see the teams compete and get a backstage look at the world of robotics. My friend Dave Zirkle and his team were participating in the competition. I stood by watching the team make some final tests and discussing strategy while they waited their turn to compete. There was one glaring element lacking at what was an action-packed and fascinating afternoon: girls. Aside from the one all-girl robotics team I saw, very few girls were present.

A Robotics Club is Born

A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to teach a summer course on robotics using LEGO Mindstorms robotics kits. I had never taught robotics before, and for the most part I was learning with the kids, but I fell in love with this particular STEM practice. The hands-on experience of building, the time put into troubleshooting a program, the excitement when the robot you built completes a challenge -- it was hours of fun. When I returned to my school in the fall, I knew I wanted to run a robotics club. I knew I wanted it to be only for girls. I knew it would cost a lot of money. However, after some fundraising, I was able to purchase two LEGO Mindstorms starter kits. I had four girls building, testing, troubleshooting and programming. Sometimes we had to review math concepts when deciding how many rotations our robot's wheels needed to make. Sometimes we needed to explore value ranges for our sensors and actually apply the concepts of greater than and less than, seeing our results in the actions our robot took (or didn't).


I took some of my girls to the robot expo so they could see the next level of robotics, should they want to continue in high school. They had a blast.


One interesting fact I learned from talking to students at the competition is that robotics team members have lots of different roles. Just like any team, each person brings a different expertise to the table. Some of the girls were builders and programmers, but some did more work in marketing and planning the team's fundraising strategy or in project management. These teams are part of a national competition, and there are strict deadlines.


What I found to be the most amazing about the conversations I had with students was that many of them were already working at engineering firms and companies (usually the one that sponsored their team) or, if they were high school seniors, the company was helping pay some of their college tuition with the promise of a job when they graduated.."

Read the full article at its source: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/girls-and-robotics-mary-beth-hertz

Saturday, November 5, 2016

SBrick Plus: a New and Impressive Item to Add to LEGO Robotics

SBrick Plus is something I will definitely be taking a close and seriously look at...

Mark 



SBrick Plus is a small building block to use in your LEGO models, allowing for remote control through Bluetooth or over the internet from any digital device. You can use our free app to program and control the SBrick Plus from your mobile phone, PC, tablet or game console. Equip children with more than just simple digital literacy. They will quickly learn and become highly skilled at programming and robotics, some of the most important fields today and the decades ahead. 


A key feature of SBrick Plus that it is compatible with Lego’s WeDo 1.0 sensors, and can be programmed using a number of languages. A separate adapter allows it to be connected to Mindstorms NTX and EV3 sensors. SBrick Plus is the first gadget to support Swift Playground, Apple’s programming language designed specifically with educational tools in mind.
The SBrick Plus is the perfect tool to raise young people’s interest in programming and robotics– whether at home or at school. SBrick has developed lessons and building plans to help children, with or without adult help, learn the basics of programming, develop and experience their creative power and enjoy seeing their designs come to life.