Robotics rules at Rochester High
Team challenged to create a three-dimensional tic-tac-toe player as entry in regional contest
February 25, 2007
BY BILL LAITNER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
There were people bent over workbenches, tools cluttering the floor and -- in the middle of it all -- a small vehicle taking shape.
Henry Ford would have approved.
But ol' Henry wouldn't have recognized much else in this scene of four-wheeled innovation at Rochester High School in Rochester Hills.
For starters, there was not a whiff of the potent stuff that, more than a century ago, stunk up Clara Ford's kitchen: gasoline.
"We're not allowed to have anything that burns," said John Mathieson, 17, of Rochester Hills as he crouched this month over the object of the group's attention.
The vehicle's frame -- or chassis, in auto-speak -- was far too small for any human being to ride. The chassis enclosed odd-looking wheels, blinking lights and a nest of wires. Soon to come would be a 9-foot mechanical arm.
In place of petroleum fumes were dual electric motors, being tested while 35 students worked against the clock, building not the next Model T but what they hope is an award-winning robot.
"We have to get it done and shipped by Feb. 20," Mathieson said Feb. 15.
Elected by his peers to be captain, Mathieson -- now in his fourth year on Rochester High's robotics team -- leads this corps of nine girls and 26 boys, including his freshman brother, Andrew.
Their entry, powered by a battery and motors identical to those of their competitors, will face off against other robots from dozens of other schools in a Rack 'n' Roll regional competition March 9-10 at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.
If Rochester's robot does well, it will advance to other contests and perhaps end up where this group did last year: at the national competition in Atlanta -- placing a stunning third in the world in their division. That's one tough act to follow.
And this year, "it's a completely different game," said Alex Debusschere, 18, of Rochester Hills. Last year's robots opposed each other in simplified games of basketball.
"This year, it's three-dimensional tic-tac-toe," Debusschere said with a grin.
His team is part of a worldwide competition that, in eight years at this high school, has become an extracurricular fixture as embedded as varsity athletics or cheerleading. To be sure, robotics is a cerebral leap from shooting hoops or shaking pom-poms. Most on the robotics team are kids who love computers and thrill to the challenge of building something technical.
Does that make them nerds? Steve Spry, 16, a junior from Rochester Hills, said peer approval isn't a problem.
"There's nothing around here like, 'You're such a geek -- you're such a nerd' for being involved with this," Spry said. Instead, for many of his peers at Rochester High, seeing is accepting.
"We do a demonstration each year for all three lunches. I think that gets us a lot of respect," he said.
Team members split up into specialties, doing everything from computer-aided design and animation to programming, electronics, even public relations and carpentry. The carpenters must build a shipping crate with precisely fitted padding, among other things.
As with sports, robotics requires team members to keep their grades up, or else they can't attend competitions, said Chris Shannon, 15, a sophomore from Rochester Hills. He leads the team's public-relations squad.
The group has inspired Herculean help from parent-mentors. Night after night for nearly two months, half a dozen parents have shown up to provide crucial help, said Mike Herderich, 47, of Rochester Hills. He's a senior engineering specialist with General Dynamics Land Systems in Sterling Heights.
"We probably put in 25 to 40 hours a week here, after work. And this last week, it's close to 60 or 80 hours," said Herderich, whose day job is with U.S. Army battle tanks but who spent all his recent nights with the robotics team and his daughter, 16-year-old Stephanie.
The spread of robotics in schools has spawned close partnerships with the auto industry. General Motors Corp. alone sponsors more than three dozen high school teams across North America, said Leandro Barajas, a senior research engineer in manufacturing research at the General Motors Tech Center in Warren.
"And last year, this team was the best of those," Barajas said Feb. 15, as he stood at Rochester High on the concrete floor of a storage area, now devoted to robotics.
"We have supported this team from the beginning," giving about $25,000 in cash support this year, Barajas said.
It's a very good investment, he added, because the U.S. auto industry hopes these robot builders grow up to design winning cars.
That's something ol' Henry Ford would understand.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070225/CFP04/702250412
Robotics programs aren't cheap
February 25, 2007
BY BILL LAITNER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Award-winning robotics programs flourish after school at Rochester High School, Rochester Adams High School and in a combined team from the two high schools in Troy.
Across Michigan, robotics teams are widely praised for cultivating engineering skills in teenagers, who may someday help revive Michigan's economy.
But the teams are costly to run; this year's parts kit and initial entry fee alone cost more than $5,000 for Rochester High, said Mike Herderich, 47, of Rochester Hills, a parent-mentor for the school's team.
"To do this right, you're talking about $20,000 a year. A lot of that comes from student fund-raising, and all the parents contribute quite a lot," Herderich said. But the rest must come from other sources, such as corporate funding -- which is hard to find, "especially in southern Michigan right now," he said.
To get more schools involved in robotics, the state provided $150,000 in seed money last year, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm said during a call-in program on Feb. 16 -- carried by Michigan public radio stations -- that she had proposed the same amount in her new budget.
"I intend to keep it in the budget. I need support in the Legislature for it," Granholm said on the show.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070225/CFP04/702250486
my comment: robotics appears to be one of the main paths to bringing kids together w/engineering, science and math education in a meaningful and fun way that might prove to be a key to keeping America competitive.
Team challenged to create a three-dimensional tic-tac-toe player as entry in regional contest
February 25, 2007
BY BILL LAITNER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
There were people bent over workbenches, tools cluttering the floor and -- in the middle of it all -- a small vehicle taking shape.
Henry Ford would have approved.
But ol' Henry wouldn't have recognized much else in this scene of four-wheeled innovation at Rochester High School in Rochester Hills.
For starters, there was not a whiff of the potent stuff that, more than a century ago, stunk up Clara Ford's kitchen: gasoline.
"We're not allowed to have anything that burns," said John Mathieson, 17, of Rochester Hills as he crouched this month over the object of the group's attention.
The vehicle's frame -- or chassis, in auto-speak -- was far too small for any human being to ride. The chassis enclosed odd-looking wheels, blinking lights and a nest of wires. Soon to come would be a 9-foot mechanical arm.
In place of petroleum fumes were dual electric motors, being tested while 35 students worked against the clock, building not the next Model T but what they hope is an award-winning robot.
"We have to get it done and shipped by Feb. 20," Mathieson said Feb. 15.
Elected by his peers to be captain, Mathieson -- now in his fourth year on Rochester High's robotics team -- leads this corps of nine girls and 26 boys, including his freshman brother, Andrew.
Their entry, powered by a battery and motors identical to those of their competitors, will face off against other robots from dozens of other schools in a Rack 'n' Roll regional competition March 9-10 at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.
If Rochester's robot does well, it will advance to other contests and perhaps end up where this group did last year: at the national competition in Atlanta -- placing a stunning third in the world in their division. That's one tough act to follow.
And this year, "it's a completely different game," said Alex Debusschere, 18, of Rochester Hills. Last year's robots opposed each other in simplified games of basketball.
"This year, it's three-dimensional tic-tac-toe," Debusschere said with a grin.
His team is part of a worldwide competition that, in eight years at this high school, has become an extracurricular fixture as embedded as varsity athletics or cheerleading. To be sure, robotics is a cerebral leap from shooting hoops or shaking pom-poms. Most on the robotics team are kids who love computers and thrill to the challenge of building something technical.
Does that make them nerds? Steve Spry, 16, a junior from Rochester Hills, said peer approval isn't a problem.
"There's nothing around here like, 'You're such a geek -- you're such a nerd' for being involved with this," Spry said. Instead, for many of his peers at Rochester High, seeing is accepting.
"We do a demonstration each year for all three lunches. I think that gets us a lot of respect," he said.
Team members split up into specialties, doing everything from computer-aided design and animation to programming, electronics, even public relations and carpentry. The carpenters must build a shipping crate with precisely fitted padding, among other things.
As with sports, robotics requires team members to keep their grades up, or else they can't attend competitions, said Chris Shannon, 15, a sophomore from Rochester Hills. He leads the team's public-relations squad.
The group has inspired Herculean help from parent-mentors. Night after night for nearly two months, half a dozen parents have shown up to provide crucial help, said Mike Herderich, 47, of Rochester Hills. He's a senior engineering specialist with General Dynamics Land Systems in Sterling Heights.
"We probably put in 25 to 40 hours a week here, after work. And this last week, it's close to 60 or 80 hours," said Herderich, whose day job is with U.S. Army battle tanks but who spent all his recent nights with the robotics team and his daughter, 16-year-old Stephanie.
The spread of robotics in schools has spawned close partnerships with the auto industry. General Motors Corp. alone sponsors more than three dozen high school teams across North America, said Leandro Barajas, a senior research engineer in manufacturing research at the General Motors Tech Center in Warren.
"And last year, this team was the best of those," Barajas said Feb. 15, as he stood at Rochester High on the concrete floor of a storage area, now devoted to robotics.
"We have supported this team from the beginning," giving about $25,000 in cash support this year, Barajas said.
It's a very good investment, he added, because the U.S. auto industry hopes these robot builders grow up to design winning cars.
That's something ol' Henry Ford would understand.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070225/CFP04/702250412
Robotics programs aren't cheap
February 25, 2007
BY BILL LAITNER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Award-winning robotics programs flourish after school at Rochester High School, Rochester Adams High School and in a combined team from the two high schools in Troy.
Across Michigan, robotics teams are widely praised for cultivating engineering skills in teenagers, who may someday help revive Michigan's economy.
But the teams are costly to run; this year's parts kit and initial entry fee alone cost more than $5,000 for Rochester High, said Mike Herderich, 47, of Rochester Hills, a parent-mentor for the school's team.
"To do this right, you're talking about $20,000 a year. A lot of that comes from student fund-raising, and all the parents contribute quite a lot," Herderich said. But the rest must come from other sources, such as corporate funding -- which is hard to find, "especially in southern Michigan right now," he said.
To get more schools involved in robotics, the state provided $150,000 in seed money last year, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm said during a call-in program on Feb. 16 -- carried by Michigan public radio stations -- that she had proposed the same amount in her new budget.
"I intend to keep it in the budget. I need support in the Legislature for it," Granholm said on the show.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070225/CFP04/702250486
my comment: robotics appears to be one of the main paths to bringing kids together w/engineering, science and math education in a meaningful and fun way that might prove to be a key to keeping America competitive.
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