Freshman Logan Blosser wires the chassis for the robot he and other James Monroebotics team members will enter in a competition. View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

JM team learns nuts and bolts of robotics

James Monroe club learns the nuts and bolts of woodworking and computer programming as they build robots

Date published: 2/11/2009

By CATHY DYSON

James Monroe High School students who want to build robots have to be part MacGyver, part member of the Geek Squad.

They need to know how to use a file, a level and a tape measure as well as how to tear apart computers and put them back together again.

One day after school, they might go over the safety procedures of using a drill. Another time, they might write an algorithm, the technique that tells a computer how to do a particular task.

The students use the tools of woodworkers and engineers as they blend old and new technologies.

"It's pretty cool," said Luca Terziotti, a senior who also works in a guitar shop. "I'm kinda used to working with tools, but I never really had any experience with robotics and the computer-science part of it."

A club called JamesMonroebotics offers him the chance to learn.

Carl Bailey and Bryan Steckler, both JM juniors, formed the club last year. The team signed up for the FIRST Robotics Competition; FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

The team got a kit of odds and ends with instructions on what their robot had to do.

During a six-week period, the team assembled what they affectionately called "The Guillotine."

Don't worry, safety experts. Students gave it that name--not because underclassmen were beheaded during testing--but because it had a lifting mechanism shaped like the deadly device.

Like other teams, the JamesMonroebotics club can use community mentors to help, so they called on local teachers, woodworkers and scientists from Dahlgren.

In their first year of competition, the students went up against larger schools with teams sponsored by high-tech giants such as Motorola.

"The fact that we came very close to placing in the quarterfinals is amazing," said Tom Litant, a computer scientist who lives in Spotsylvania County.

The JamesMonroebotics club hopes to do even better this year. Early last month, the group learned that "lunacy" is the theme of this year's challenge, in honor of the 40th anniversary of men walking on the moon.

The James Monroe team is building a robot that can maneuver the moon's slippery surface. The moon's gravity is only one-sixth of the Earth's--a fact that JamesMonroebotics members spout often as they work.

The JamesMonroebotics club includes about 10 students, who work diligently from January to March to build a robot for competition. Students are assisted by mentors, including teachers, woodworkers and scientists. The club will attend the regional FIRST Robotics Competition March 19-21 at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. More information about the club is available at jamesmonroe botics.org/team.shtml. The JamesMonroebotics club relies heavily on sponsors because it needs about $17,000 to compete in robot-building events. That includes the $2,000 fee for the kit of motors and devices the team gets, as well as a $4,000 entry fee for each regional competition. Last year, the team got a grant from NASA to underwrite start-up costs. This year, the club has about eight local sponsors.

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Date published: 2/11/2009