6/3/2009 12:12:00 PM Look out! Magnolia overrun with robots!
Lawton Elementary School students enjoy some robot time with volunteer and Microsoft engineer Michael Leonard (center). The Lego Robotics Club is teaching kids ground-level engineering and programming skills.
A Lawton Elementary School student eyes a Lego robot.
By Jennifer Noble
Legos might consider resurrecting their commercial character, Zack, the Lego Maniac from the 1980s with the new name, Brainiac, to connect with the new generation of children worldwide who currently work with Lego Robotics.
Ten children have an opportunity to experience the beauty of Legos at this higher level through Lawton Elementary School's new Lego Robotics team program.
Lawton second- and fourth-graders will participate in a global challenge at the beginning of next school year through First Lego League. Guided by a team coach and helped by mentors, kids will build autonomous robots using engineering concepts and present their research and solutions for a real-world problem; this fall challenge is called Smart Move: Transforming Transportation.
Michael Leonard, a software-development engineer for Microsoft Corp., organized this new club at Lawton and is the coach. His granddaughter is a student at the school, and he has always wanted to volunteer in some capacity. "I wanted to do something but I didn't know what," he said. Then the idea for Legos came along.
He developed the idea for a Lego Robotics team after learning about First Lego League through a colleague at work who had been involved for a few years. "It just seemed like it would be fun," Leonard said.
Leonard is working with the students alongside teacher Peter Hubbard, who is serving as the team's sponsor. Robots are given out in teams of two who work together to design and build them. There are about six robots being built by the club.
An essential part of the design process includes developing computer programs that communicate to the robots directions for how to move in conjunction with the use of sensors. Milo, one of the students on the team explained the variety of sensors-ultrasonic, touch and sound-that are available for the team to work with. To design and implement the robots' programs, Lawton's team uses RoboLab Pilot software, which offers a basic platform with simple icons and a click-and-choose interface.
Each Thursday after school, the students devote two hours to their research and design efforts. "They have a variety of projects under way which they've come up with themselves," Leonard said.
Students Milo and Efraim demonstrated a spinning robot designed for battle on the test table. Efraim explained, "We've been testing it out for a long time and then adding new stuff." The students present themselves with problems and then try to find solutions.
One student has designed a robot that carries a ball and is currently trying to figure out a way to shoot the ball into the air. "Next year, when we're doing the challenge-which is to transform transportation-maybe we'll have some reason that we want to have something carry a ball and shoot it up in the air. It's really interesting to me how this exploration can become something," Leonard said.
In spite of the club's complex trappings, having fun guides each meeting. There is a constant flow of laughter, creative discussion and quips of phrases like "Bombs away!"
Speaking of the students, Leonard said, "It's amazing to me. You would never, ever have thought of any of these robots in your wildest dreams, right?"
Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, June 11, 2009
Article comment by:
Michael Leonard
Thanks for the great article. Catchy title, good background research, quotes, pictures, and writing. You captured it perfectly!
Two small corrections: In the first photo, the man in the center is Peter Hubbard, a teacher at Lawton who is our team sponsor.
Also, the competition in the Fall is for third, fourth, and fifth graders.
One last thing: we need assistant coaches. Desire to work with elementary girls and boys is required, but robot experience is not. :)
