Old Colony Archives
Seminar examines language of robotics
By James Reed, Standard-Times staff writer
October 20, 2001
ROCHESTER -- As rescue workers use robotics to probe the rubble of the World Trade Center, students and educators in SouthCoast are exploring the field in their own back yard.
Yesterday, about 20 people from all over New England gathered at Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School to study the basic language of robotics.
Michael Gagne, an electronics instructor at Old Colony, organized the two-day seminar that continues today.
According to Mr. Gagne, the importance of robotics is growing, and the field is becoming more practical in this technological age.
"The whole world is becoming roboticized," Mr. Gagne said. "This seminar is a great example of how our schools are looking to the future."
Representatives from Parallax, an electronics company based in California, are teaching students how to work a stamp, which in technical terms is a tiny microcontroller that allows someone to "talk to hardware." It's called a stamp because of its similar size.
Amid mostly adult males behind computer screens, fresh-faced Alex Croome, 11, stood out in the crowd.
"I got a basic stamp for Christmas last year, and I came here because I wanted to know how to use it," the Rehoboth youth said. "I didn't know anything before I came here, but now I feel like that's not true anymore."
Many kids Alex's age admit some sort of interest in video games, but how does an 11-year-old get involved in robotics?
"One of my friends went to a meeting of the Robotics Art Club, and he told me how cool it was," Alex said.
The Robotics Art Club, which is based in the Providence area, is an organization of pre-teens interested in robotics. They work on a number of projects, but mostly they've grabbed attention for their Dance of the WaterSpiders exhibit, which has been performed in Boston and Providence.
The performance features brightly painted giant mechanical spiders that measure 6 to 7 feet long and dance on water.
Alex said that when he grows up, he'd like to be an astronomer who works with robots.
By starting to study the field now, he figures he'll get a head start on his peers.
"Today's seminar has totally changed my perspective on robotics," he said.