robotics

*Video* Northeast Students Build Automated Device to Cook Hot Dogs Using Electricity 

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Northeast Metro Tech
Superintendent David DiBarri
100 Hemlock Road
Wakefield, MA 01880

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Contact: Jessica Sacco
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

*Video* Northeast Students Build Automated Device to Cook Hot Dogs Using Electricity 

To watch a video of the process, click here.

WAKEFIELD — Two Northeast Robotics and Automation students are taking the art of barbecuing to a new level.

Juniors Matthew Cheffro, of Wakefield, and Kyle Paradis, of Revere, recently created a programmable logic controller (PLC) hot dog cooker, to produce what students call “shock dogs.”

The name came from the method in which they’re cooked.

“It basically electrocutes them,” Cheffro explained.

“Using 120 volts of alternating current,” added Paradis.

The pair first started building the project — inspired by Presto’s 1970s “hot dogger” electric hot dog cooker — last year.

The device works as follows: hot dogs (preferably beef, as that’s what the device is programmed to cook) are stuck on stainless steel metal prongs. With a push of a green button — that is connected to a PLC — a lid closes on the device and metal prongs send electricity through the hot dog, cooking it from the inside out. Sixty-five seconds later, the dogs are done.

“I’d say our dogs are better than a Fenway Frank,” Paradis said.

Coding developed by Cheffro and Paradis programs the device, which also includes a number of colored buttons that alert the user that different sequences are occurring. A blinking yellow light confirms the dogs are cooking, while a blue light signals that the device is functioning properly and no fuses have blown.

“It’s amazing,” Cheffro said. “I love that we can come up with an idea and then make it happen.”

The project, which the juniors completed under the guidance of instructor Brian Caven, encompasses the three main disciplines of robotics and automation: software, electrical and mechanical.

“Everything that students learn and create in class is similar to what they’d see in the industry,” Caven said. “Whether it’s cooking a hot dog on an electrical device, or programming stop lights, these all involve the automation process. It was great to see Matt and Kyle exercise their creativity and this is something the entire shop can enjoy.”

Next year, as seniors, Cheffro and Paradis will once again work on expanding the shock dogger, potentially building a robotic arm that can remove the hot dogs and add toppings, along with making a touch panel that will allow them to adjust the amount of time the dogs cook for beef versus chicken.

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Mascoma Valley Students Excel through Regional Upper Valley Robotics Team 

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Mascoma Valley School District 

Amanda Isabelle, Superintendent

Rt. 4
PO Box 789
Enfield, NH 03748

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, May 24, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003

Email: [email protected]

Mascoma Valley Students Excel through Regional Upper Valley Robotics Team 

ENFIELD, N.H. — Superintendent Amanda Isabelle is pleased to share that the Upper Valley Robotics Team ranked 16th in New England after a series of robotics competitions this school year.

The Upper Valley Robotics Team, also known as FIRST Robotics Competition Team 95, is a regional group of students from schools including Hartford Area Career and Technology Center (HACTC), Hartford, Hanover, Lebanon and Mascoma Valley, as well as homeschooled students.

After this year’s FIRST Robotics competition cycle, the team placed 16th out of the 210 registered teams in New England. The team also qualified for the World Championship competition in Detroit, Michigan this April, but did not attend.

The FIRST Robotics Competition annually challenges students to raise funds and build a robot in six weeks that they will enter into regional competitions. The team named their 2019 robot Cecelia Payne, and were supported during the process by the HACTC, Progressive Manufacturing Inc., and local companies including FujiFilm Dimatix, Hypertherm, and Timken.

James Cole-Henry, an engineer at Fujifilm, is the head coach for the team. There are approximately 14 students and eight coaches on the team.

The Upper Valley Robotics Team is one of a select few in the world capable of completing all 12 cycles needed to finish a rocket by themselves, and has successfully done so in competition.

“These students worked remarkably hard to build their robot, and I think their success this season illustrates their superb knowledge of robotics,” Superintendent Isabelle said. “This program provides a wonderful opportunity for students to learn directly from local professionals, and being a regional team, students also had the opportunity to work alongside their peers from other schools.”

The team took part in four regional competitions this school year. They placed as quarter finalists in the April 10-13 New England District Championship at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts; finalists at the 2019 New England District Central Massachusetts Competition from March 29-31 at Shrewsbury High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts; event winners at the New England District North Shore Event on March 15-17 at Reading Memorial High School in Reading, Massachusetts; and semifinalists at the 2019 New England District Granite State Event in Salem, New Hampshire from March 15-17.

The team also won an Engineering Excellence award at the North Shore event and an Industrial design award at the Central Massachusetts event.

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*Media Advisory* Oyster River to Host Robotics Competition this Weekend

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Oyster River Cooperative School District
SAU No. 5
Superintendent James Morse
36 Coe Drive
Durham, NH 03824

For Immediate Release

Friday, Jan. 25, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

*Media Advisory* Oyster River to Host Robotics Competition this Weekend

Nine groups of Oyster River Middle School students built robots this year and competed against groups from other schools in VEX IQ Robotics Competitions. The school will hold it’s first VEX IQ robotics competition this Sunday, Jan. 27. (Courtesy photo Oyster River Cooperative School District)

DURHAM – Principal Jay Richard is pleased to announce that Oyster River Middle School will host its first VEX IQ robotics event this Sunday.

Approximately 45 students in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades at Oyster River Middle School take part in VEX IQ robotics, and are coached after school by teachers John Silverio and Jason Duff.

VEX IQ Robotics is a robotics building program that teaches students STEM concepts through the act of building and programming a robot.

Students who joined the VEX IQ Robotics club at Oyster River Middle School this fall started working on their robots in late September. Four out of the middle school’s nine teams have qualified this year for the state tournament on Feb. 17 at Manchester Community College. Two to five students are in each team.

Last year, one Oyster River Middle School team won the New Hampshire/ Vermont state championship VEX IQ Robotics competition in multiple categories. The same team also participated in the World VEX IQ event in April 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky.

On Sunday, Jan. 27, Oyster River Middle School is hosting it’s first annual VEX IQ Next Level Tournament from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The tournament is the last qualifying event for New Hampshire teams, and 32 groups from across the state have signed up to compete.

Students will face a variety of challenges in the competition. Individual teams will have one minute to score as many points as possible on the ‘challenge table.” Points can be scored by maneuvering a robot to move hubs on the table and stacking them in two scoring zones. Teams can also earn points by directing their robot to complete the round with a particular action, such as parking their robot under a bar or hanging from it. Points will also be added to the ‘skills’ score if a team programs their robot to score points autonomously.

Teams will also participate in pairs to score as many points as possible in one minute teamwork challenges during the tournament, ending in a ‘step ladder’ competition where the two teams with the highest scores will advance to the state tournament.

Engineering judges will also evaluate teams based on robot design and performance. Two awards, one for design and another for overall excellence, will be awarded at the competition. Teams that are given either award will qualify for the state tournament. Teams will also be assessed by their engineering knowledge and design, as well as an engineering log that tracks their process for building a robot and their engineering design stages.

For more information about Sunday’s competition visit www.robotevents.com/robot-competitions/vex-iq-challenge/RE-VIQC-18-6984.html.

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Jacobs School Students Expand STEAM Work with Ozobots

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Hull Public Schools
Michael F. Devine, Superintendent
180 Harborview Road
Hull, MA 02045

For Immediate Release

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Jacobs School Students Expand STEAM Work with Ozobots

HULL — The Lillian M. Jacobs Elementary School has some exciting new technology in the form of an Ozobot.

This tiny robot is capable of following lines, sensing colors and interpreting sequences of color codes into commands. Through Ozobot’s sensors, it can read floor signs approximately 150 times per second to detect red, green, blue, black and white areas and react accordingly.

The Jacobs School purchased two classroom kits — 22 Ozobot Bits and 22 Ozobot Evos — that are used in Kerrie Ryan’s Technology class for hands-on science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) learning.

Students in kindergarten through fifth grade visit Ryan’s class once to twice a week and work on learning how to code their pocket-sized robot to perform tasks. Ozobot has more than 25 unique color code commands that control speed, behavior and decision making.

Children have experimented with turbo, snail dose, tornado, zigzag and u-turn commands and are practicing creating just the right line so the Evos and Bits can correctly follow their coding.

“Ozobots are a great tool for teaching children the basics of coding, and it makes STEAM learning engaging for students,” Principal Christine Cappadona said. “Students have really enjoyed experimenting with coding to have their Ozobots move, explore and play.”

The Ozobots will also support Jacobs School’s work during Computer Science Education Week and its Hour of Code event. Additionally, an after school Ozobot club is now being offered to students in grades three through five who want to expand their knowledge and skills.

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