Athena, which is programmable with LabVIEW, gives high school students experience with the same tools they will use throughout college and in their science and engineering careers. As students advance through these four robotics programs, access to tools that scale with each skill level is essential to their success. Starting with Junior FIRST ® LEGO ® League (Jr.FLL ®), which is the entry-level program in a Progression ofPrograms at FIRST for youths ages 6 to 18, students use tools powered by LabVIEW to intuitively learn embedded control and robotics programming concepts. Students will use Athena starting in the 2015 season of the FIRST ® Robotics Competition (FRC ®). We also will support other FIRST events such as the DC Regional on March 28-30, 2013.Īnyone interested in getting involved in these service activities is welcome to email Betsy Mendelsohn, Director, STS Programs.This phase of the technology partnership centers around the creation of a next-generation embedded robotics control platform code-named “Athena.” Athena is a super-rugged, reconfigurable controller that, when paired with NI LabVIEW system design software, makes it possible for FIRST teams to design real systems faster than ever. High School on February 16, 2013, in Washington DC ( photos from 2012). The STS Program will send student volunteers to a scrimmage during the final days of the build period hosted by Phelps A.C.E. Developed by Claire Robbins in 2009 and now taught by Matt Aruch, CPSP249T students have benefited from the dedication of these graduate students in the School of Education. Students in Scholars are encouraged to earn credit for service students registered in CPSP249T can support after school robotics clubs at Greenbelt E.S. The Science, Technology & Society ( STS) program of College Park Scholars hosted the event (first hosted in January 2012) in the Cambridge Community Center. The three NI instructors included Nishantha Fernando, academic field sales engineer for the mid-Atlantic region. National Instruments supported this event by staffing a programming workshop in LabVIEW, using several robot-scale teaching breadboards that provide hands on experience. Student volunteers from MASE (Mentors Advancing STEM Education) included Nitay Ravin (EE) and Dan Villalobos (Physics). At Saturday's event, mentors included computer scientists, IT professionals, the STEM program specialist from APL - Denise Lewis, engineers, an electrician, retirees from STEM careers, and dedicated home school parents. Please see photos from the January 2013 and photos from the January 2012 campus robotics events.Īdult and college student mentors support the teens as they build and program their robots. FIRST was begun by inventor Dean Kamen to attract and retain students to STEM education and careers more than 50,000 students on 2,500 teams will participate internationally in 2013. The FIRST season for 2013's FRC challenge, " Ultimate Ascent," started on January 5 and culminates on February 19, 2013. They are all associated with For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology ( FIRST) as members of FIRST Robotics Challenge ( FRC) teams. On Saturday, January 12, 2013, students from 8 high schools gathered on campus to build and learn to program their competition robots. Students participate in the FIRST robotics workshop on campus, January 12, 2013.