Creativity, Imagination, and Ingenuity
by Amber Nero, Vet Assistant Junior
When you think of the word “robot,” does it call to mind an episode of Spongebob Squarepants or maybe a Sci-fi thriller based on an Issac Asimov short story? Recently, STEAM students at Lawrence County CTC have been studying the laws of robotics and turning their understanding into hands-on skills. In opposition to a "Krab Borg" scenario where robots take over the world, Asimov's Second Law states that “a robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings.” With this in mind, Katie Bober assembled their own robot to do their bidding, and -- Well -- you have to see this!
Bober used a Vex Robotic Kit to make this astonishing robot in her STEAM class. “The assignment was to make a useful robot.” Because of other previous challenges earlier in the year, creating a robot would be pretty easy, but how could it be made to be of use?
First, Bober considered a problem. “I needed to sell candy bars. People are beginning to tire of me asking if they’d like to purchase one, so I figured I would use a robot to draw them in,” and boy did it work!
With Bober’s amazing ingenuity and intelligence, an addition of a platform that acted like the bed to a truck would address the challenge portion of the assignment. Bober placed some chocolate bars on the platform and, with a remote, steered it into classrooms looking for eager buyers! One came up and offered money to the robot. The robot used its remote-controlled grabber to grab the dollar and placed it into the cup. Bober controlled the robot to drive closer for the student to select the bar of choice, and the rest is history! Few could say that they bought candy from a robot, but our LCCTC students now can!
Bober did have some challenges on the way such as opening closed doors, making sure the robot stayed out of the way of students walking to class, and keeping the robot from tipping with the weight of items it carried. With lots of trial and error, that never set them back! The robot’s arm was used to open doors, Bober directed the robot into an empty classroom when the bell rang, and a few strategically-placed bolts and screws gave the device the weight it needed to not tip over. Bober always has a solution for the problems life throws!
STEAM class at LCCTC offers an opportunity for young adults to allow their creativity, imagination, and ingenuity to shine through!
