Aborn Institute

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Congratulations to the EVHS Robotics Team! Robot II will be built in Jan/Feb at Aborn School.


The Evergreen Valley High School Robotics Team -- The Prototypes -- won 1st place in the CalGames 2009 Competition in Woodside, CA.

"Over 35 teams from around the Bay Area competed in CalGames, a replay of the 2009 FIRSTRobotics Competition ("For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology"). Student-made robots competed against one another in a game fittingly called "Lunacy" (a nod to the 40th anniversary of NASA's moon landing). The winning team—actually an alliance of three teams: Bellarmine College Prep ("Cheesy Poofs"), Leland High School ("Quixilver"), and Evergreen Valley High School ("The Prototypes")—outscored their opponents in a contest requiring their robots to pick up and place as many game balls as possible in trailers hitched to their opponents' robots.

Each team was given six weeks to build their robots from identical crates of parts—driver and robot control and wireless communications systems, motors, and slick wheels, along with other components. The battles took place on a slippery floor—54 by 27-foot—designed to symbolize the kind of physics challenges engineers faced when they designed the original moon lander. Robots were set to perform autonomously during the first 15 seconds of each match and then operated using remote controls for the remaining two minutes.

The EVHS Robotics Team is student-run and their robots are 100% student-designed and student-built. Parents and teachers helped coach and supervise. As champions, the team won a wafer plaque.

This is the first time EVHS has competed at CalGames and this is also the first year the team has participated in the FIRSTRobotics Competition. The team will be attending the 2010 FIRST Silicon Valley Regional Competition at San Jose State University as well as the 2010 FIRST Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.” –Dr. A. Lomas, EVHS principal
 
To see one of their robots in action, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfNgrZUuYPw&feature=player_embedded .
 

 This year, the EVHS Prototypes will be beginning the building season on January, 06, 2010 at Aborn School. This is a great opportunity for our after school students to observe how a robot is built, and the robotics team has also offered to introduce and teach the fundamentals of robotics to our students.
If you would like to support this outstanding team, please read the following and see if you can provide any of the resources they need.

“The fundraising effort is still going strong. While we are still awaiting grant results from Western Digital, our school ASB, and Target, we need your help! We've always been successful finding sponsors through parents, and you only need to help us set up a meeting.
-Please check with your employer to see if they may be interested in sponsoring a team.
-Also, check to see if your employer can provide product donations/services that could be useful. Your donation will be recognized publicly on our team name, robots, promotional items, T-shirts, and website. Our team is often recognized on national television such as NASA TV. In addition, we attend many events for competitions, conferences, and public outreach. All contributions are tax-deductible.
-Our number one priority is to find a workspace outside of school -- preferably a machine shop (drill presses, milling machines, etc.) -- do you know of any?
-    Know a local business that could offer discounts or donate items such as vinyl banners, plastic, stock metal, pizza, soda, etc.?
-    Know a business that can provide services such as printing?
-    Know a realtor that knows of vacant business spaces around the area that we might be able to borrow?

And currently, the following are paid for by these sponsors:
-    $5000 grant from Google covers the Silicon Valley Competition
-    $2000 grant from Rockwell-Collins partially covers the Atlanta Championship
-    $1000 generous donation from Mr. Jonathan David partially covers the Botball cost
-    Service offered by Angular Machining covers CNC machining cost

Thanks for your help! We appreciate it.

Best Regards,
EVHS Robotics”

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Aborn School will hold a series of classes and camps of science and technology with applied robotics for elementary and middle school students. After a couple of months training, we will make teams in August 2010 to participate varied levels competitions for elementary (6-8 years old age team) and middle school (9~14 years old ago team, up to 10 students) students this fall.
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Robots Summer Camp is 08/2/10~08/12/10.

Introduction
This robotics summer camp is geared towards children age 9 to 14. The program integrates practical applications of computer science, mathematics, fundamental physics, engineering, and writing into a rich and fun-filled course. Ultimately, the camp prepares kids for the FIRST Lego League (FLL) competition. By the end of the ten-day camp period, students should be able to:
·         Build and program an autonomous mobile robot
·         Understand the fundamentals of DC electricity
·         Demonstrate understanding of concepts in mechanics
·         Follow through an engineering process i.e. brainstorm, design, prototype, testing, and reiteration
·         Document their progress and findings
 
Resources and Methodology
Working in groups, students will learn through a hands-on approach. They will learn concepts in mechanics through experimentation with LEGO models. Fundamentals of electrics will be investigated using the Electronics Snap Circuits Kit. They will build and program robots using the LEGO Mindstorms NXT Robotics Kit.
 
Each day, students will first go through a series of hands-on activities designed to teach them the chosen concepts. Afterwards, they will be assigned a project to demonstrate knowledge. On the last day, they will work with their partners to build robots that will run a designated course.
 
Topics Covered
Mechanics
Gears
Wheels & axles
Levers
Pulleys
Motorization
DC Electrics
Series vs. parallel circuits
Resistors
Power source
Switches
Actuators
Conductivity
Robotics / Computer science
Flowcharts
Graphic-based NXT programming
Sensors
Navigation
Engineering Process
Brainstorm
Design specifications
Prototyping
Testing
Reiteration
Teamwork