Think of it as a cross between computer science and a hip-hop dance
party.
A group of 20
teens from the Capital Region at Union College's Robot Camp this week have
been honing their programmable automatons to take on obstacle courses, a
bowling lane and a relay race.
But the real
test came at the end of camp on Friday,
Aug. 1, when they saw how well their 'bots could dance to Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys.
The dancers were
three-wheel drive automatons — about the size of a small shoebox – built and
programmed in a summer camp for aspiring robotics engineers this week at Union College. All 20 bots danced simultaneously.
Mishaps occurred.
On Friday
morning, the young engineers programmed their robots through a maze, an
obstacle course, a bowling competition and a relay race. But at various work
stations throughout the week, they were listening to the Beastie Boys' Intergalactic, and choreographing their
robots' moves.
The Robot Day
Camp is an offshoot of Union's Robot Club. Members of the club have
competed in international robot competitions in France and Turkey, and a handful serve as
counselors for the summer camp. Professor Cherrice Traver is director of the
camp, now in its fifth year.
“These kids
are truly exceptional,” Traver said. “They have, in just a few days, exceeded
our wildest expectations. Their robots are performing tasks that are quite
complex, things that we thought would require much more class time for high
school students to master.”
Nearly all of the 20 students are from local schools.
For more photos from Robot Camp 2003, visit: http://doc.union.edu/Robotcamp/Camp_03