High-tech hunger
Students learn programming, web design at Robotics Cam - 8/6/07

Campers observe their “boebot” as it navigates a maze of plastic cups.

They assembled machines, adjusted metal sensors, and tested their creations. They programmed codes as they hovered over computers. And, though they sound like professional technicians and engineers, they were all under 15 years old.  

The tinkering, testing, and learning was part of Robotics Camp at Dulaney High School, a weeklong summer program designed to further middle schoolers’ knowledge and abilities in the fields of robotics and computers.

Instructor Brian Bruneau interacts with robotics campers.

Under the leadership of Dulaney teacher Brian Bruneau, the campers spent the week of June 25 assembling and testing devices known as “BoeBots,” educational robots with attached sensors. By typing in codes to computer programs and uploading them onto the robots, campers were able to direct the “bots” through a maze of five cups, which they were required to avoid.

The maze allowed the budding engineers to use trial-and-error, test their programming, and then adjust it to get the shortest time possible. They also learned how to design their own webpage.

Preparing their navigation robots required planning and skill.

Six years ago, Bruneau proposed the idea for a Robotics Camp to the Johns Hopkins Engineering Program, which agreed to fund it. The camp started at Woodlawn High, where Bruneau also began a Robotics Club that still exists today. When he transferred to Dulaney two years ago, he started a Robotics Club there, too.          

“Running this camp is a great feeling, especially when we get younger kids,” says Bruneau. “I love getting to see nine-year-olds do just as great as the older kids.”

Bruneau’s dedication, it seems, has rubbed off on his students and campers alike. Some current members of the Robotics Club at Dulaney are former campers, and other previous campers have moved on to start clubs at their own schools, according to Bruneau. Additionally, members of the club, including one who already graduated, volunteered to help out at the camp.

The summer camp required a variety of skills from students.

As an additional treat, the campers traveled to the Johns Hopkins Engineering Department to learn more about robotics and get some hands-on experience. They also got to keep their BoeBots at the end of the camp week.

But Robotics Camp is not the only thing Bruneau and his club members do for kids. In addition to taking their big robot around to elementary schools, they host “Mindstorm,” a recurring Saturday event during which kids build Lego robots.

 

Students watch expectantly as a boebot passes a cup obstacle.

The Dulaney Robotics Club raises $30,000 dollars annually to help fund its endeavors, including the construction of a five-foot robot. Though engineers advise them during the six-week construction and programming period, the students themselves ultimately plan and build the impressive machine, complete with a video camera “eye” that can identify objects.

 

 

“Boebots” are small, easily maneuverable, and equipped with special sensors.

“One of the club members helped me out a lot,” says Jesse E., a camper and rising freshman at Dulaney. “If I have time, I will definitely join the Robotics Club next year.”

 

 

 

 

 

Story and photographs by Bethany B., a summer intern in the Baltimore County Public Schools Office of Communications and a rising senior at Pikesville High School.

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