This week is National Robotics Week! We stopped by a meeting of our Robotics Club to catch up with the students and their staff advisor, Mr. Galusha.
Like many school robotics clubs, our Robotics Club uses the VEX Robotics Program to build robots. VEX Robotics is a company that creates affordable educational robotics kits to help students learn about engineering, math, and science.
The VEX system is a metal-based robotics platform with machinable, bolt-together pieces that can be used to construct custom robots. Students get to use their creativity with the customizable designs. The robot is controlled by a programmable processor known as the "Brain". When it is time to get to work, the students attach the Brain to a computer and send it instructions by typing out code.
Once the robot is ready, users can control movements using gaming controllers. Different robots travel at different speeds. Some have claws to pick up objects, others have tracks for diagonal movement, and some have both!
It is so impressive to see what this club has worked on. VEX offers a selection of building kits, but you will notice that no two robots are the same. The ability to customize the robots encourages students to think critically about the problems they are facing and what solutions will fix them. The skills learned in the Robotics Club will be invaluable to our students in the future.