[Lydean] Students learned to build robots and rockets at Space Camp. This four-day program was run by St. Mary’s County Public Schools. On Wednesday afternoon from 12:30 to 2 p.m., FTC Team 2843, Under the Son, performed a demonstration and drive session for the twenty campers. The demonstration focused on the differences between the team’s last three robots, the technology of a Wii-bot made by FRC Team 836 - the Robobees, and the rules of Bowled Over, Jr.

The students designed rockets using a software tool called RockSim, so we focused on the differences between three of our robots. Crusader, a three year old robot, was built to collect whiffle balls and shoot them into a high goal or tub outside of the field walls. It was built large to hold as many whiffle balls as possible. Conductor was designed to be smaller, because it navigated a field crowded with balance beams, a hump, and three other robots. Jack was designed with a dual-stage arm that rotated crates and only held five racquetballs. They were equipped with different sensors to aid in navigation or to detect game elements with embedded magnets. A student suggested stabilizers for Jack, so we could increase his 8 1/2 foot scissor lift and reduce the risk of tipping over. One of the students also knew how to drive tank-style, because she had experience driving an RC car. These students were smart!

The students were impressed with Jack's scissor lift during the demonstration, but were awed when the Wii-bot arrived. This robot had two drive wheels and one omni-wheel. Allan controlled it using a Wii balance board, so the students would know how to drive it later. We transitioned to the hands-on portion of the event by handing around a broken motor, so the students could see the inside of it. We also asked the students to remove the PVC tubes from the dispensers that were part of the Get Over It game. They found it harder to pull them out when they could only move their arm in one direction without using their wrists. The last part of the demonstration was to outline the rules of a game we call Bowled Over, Jr.

We built four play-bots and marked one with a red tube, one with a yellow tube, the third with a blue tube, and the fourth with a green tube. We taped the bowling balls so that one would have only red tape, another yellow, the third green, and the fourth blue. We placed the red robot on a home zone and its red bowling ball on a different home zone. We did the same with the other robots and balls. We challenged the students to drive down their home zone and onto the one with their bowling ball, and then to knock the bowling ball completely off the ramp. We scored the students on who was first, second, third, and fourth to push the bowling balls completely off the ramp. After four matches, we sorted the scores for each person. The four students who ranked the highest played an elimination round. Jacob was our first place winner; David, second, Jay, third; and Jonathon was fourth. One student was actually able to drive off the side of a home zone onto a bowling ball!

While four of the students were driving the play-bots, the other students drove the Wii. Mr. Skinner, the teacher for the week, loaned us some cones, so the students would be challenged to drive a course. We added this to our packing list for the next demonstration. We also added a note to ourselves that we should take other parts that can be handed around by the students to each other. We gave buttons to all of the students and one of the student’s-guides remembered receiving one of our buttons at a competition in which they had also competed. Later, one of the students indicated interest in joining a team. The students were attentive and curious about the robots, and their questions were knowledgeable. The student’s-guides were polite and helpful. We were very impressed with the whole group.