Del Norte students treated to robot workshop
Valerie McEwen, Del Norte high school student, attends an Adams State College robot workshop on Feb. 13, organized by Professor of Physics Dr. Randy Emmons.
"We had a great time at the robotics workshop with professor Emmons," Sean O'Friel, Del Norte High School geometry and physics teacher, said. "The students acquired basic programming skills at almost light speed."
The students use equipment Emmons purchased through a US Army grant for $51,000. He has acquired twelve ERI units and accessory packs, Dell Latitude D400 Notebooks, NX-1000 development boards, and CMU cam Vision Systems; as well as thirty-five BS2-1C Basic Stamp microprocessors.
The high school students use Parallax and Basic Stamps and program the Basic Stamps microprocessors by modifying existing code.
"This approach allowed students to use the microprocessors to turn on or off LEDs and input signals via push button switches," Emmons said. "We then quickly move to programming simple robots. The students are challenged to make the robots perform movement tasks and we then integrate sensors onto the robots. Overall, the students are highly enthused and motivated."
By Linda Relyea