The Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) has awarded a $500.00 grant to Seminole SECME (Science, Engineering, Communication and Mathematics Enhancement) club in support of its VEX robotics program. Students initiated building basic robots, specifically designed to compete at the March trial tournament at the College of Engineering at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. Their Protobot has 4-wheel, 2-motor drive train, an arm with 180+ degrees of motion, and a claw at the end of the arm is designed to pickup tennis ball sized cubes.
The FSGC has teamed with NASA, other Florida space-related organizations and the Florida Department of Education to promote statewide use of aerospace education programs, including NASA’s impressive space education resources, to support reading, science, mathematics, and technology education for our students. For example, NASA is engaged in educational and public outreach efforts to teach schoolchildren about space exploration, robot technology and the universe in which they live. The 2011 Mars Science Laboratory rover will be larger and more capable than any craft previously sent to land on Mars: imaging its surroundings in high definition, analyzing rocks with a high-powered laser beam, inspecting rocks and soil with a six-foot robotic arm, and cooking and sniffing rock powder delivered from a hammering drill to investigate what minerals are in Martian rocks.
The VEX robotics design competition will provide young thinkers with a current connection to the human-robotic partnership that is transforming discovery and exploration. For 2009, SECME is facilitating a low-cost, high impact robotics program that will encourage more students to continue their education beyond high school and ultimately to choose science-, technology-, engineering-, and mathematics-related careers. In this highly engaging after-school program, students collaborate with their teachers and industry leaders, using their skills and knowledge in science, math, engineering, and technology to configure high-tech robotics to meet a preset series of tasks. Students acquire a ‘can do spirit’ and they get an opportunity to learn from their mentors and motivators in ways that build confidence and pride in their accomplishments. The teams design, build and practice maneuvering their robots before shipping them off to Embry-Riddle University in late March.
Seminole SECME will be competing at the trial tournament on Saturday, March 28, 2009 (tentative) at the College of Engineering at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. This year’s VEX competition is ELEVATION. Elevation is played on a 12'x12' square field. Two alliances - one "red" and one "blue" - composed of two teams each, compete in each match which consists of a 20 second pre-programmed period where the robot operates autonomously, followed by 2 minutes of driver controlled play. Due to travel expenses, this valuable project to attract and hold the attention of today’s multi-tasking teens requires significant fundraising and donations. The FSGC grant helps secure some funding to defray costs. More donations are always welcome.
About the NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium: The Florida Space Grant Consortium was established in 1989 and is a statewide network of colleges and universities supporting the expansion and diversification of Florida's space industry through grants, scholarships, and fellowships to students and educators from Florida's public and private institutes of higher education. FSGC is administered through the University of Central Florida, which main offices located at The Astronauts Memorial Foundation's Center for Space Education on the grounds of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. http://fsgc.engr.ucf.edu/.
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