PMS ‘Robo Jo-Jo’ wins third place
Neighbors | Submitted .The Poland Middle School robotics team took third place overall in the Northeast Ohio Robotics Education Program competition at YSU Mar. 10. Front row (from left): David Lankitus, Joe Weetman, Max Prizant, Lauren Bodendorfer, Nina Smith and Brittany Best. Back row (from left) Charles May, Clay Miller, Devin Beaumier, Bryan Higgins and coach Patrick Williams.
By GRACE WYLER
gwyler@vindy.com
‘Robo Jo-Jo,’ a robot built by students at Poland Middle School, took home third place overall in the 2010 Northeast Ohio Robotics Education Program competition at Youngstown State University Mar. 10.
The PMS robotics team consists of 10 students under the direction of coaches Patrick Williams and Jill Marconi. The team finished in second place in the tournament’s second game, after finishing third in the first game. The students also took home second-place prizes for best technical journal and best design, as well as the third place prize for best presentation.
The PMS robotics team was chosen from among the members the school’s Robotics Club, which teaches programming and how to construct a basic robot, Williams said.
Over the course of 10 weeks, the team worked on building, designing and programming an autonomous robot, nicknamed ‘Robo Jo-Jo.’ Students also worked on a presentation and a technical journal for the competition.
“We knew what the competition events consisted of ahead of time,” Williams said. “Students, through trial and error, tried different ways to solve the presented problems.”
When the team was presented with challenges, the team members had to figure out how to get the robot to perform certain tasks, Williams said. Although the students sometimes disagreed, they learned to listen and respect other points of view, he said.
“I like the students to learn about the design process and programming language,” Williams said. “However, what I want them to take away most from this experience is learning how to problem solve and how to get along with each other in a group setting.”
The Northeast Ohio Robotics Education Program is a regional high school and middle school robotics competition designed to motivate students towards careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, said Arlene Floyd, the director of the program.
In addition to teaching students robotics, the program emphasizes teamwork and problem solving, Floyd said.
“We emphasize that it is the process, and not the competition, that is important,” Floyd said.
The cost of many high school and middle school robotics programs often prohibits schools from competing, Floyd said. The competition operates on a “shoestring budget” in order to keep costs low so all schools can participate, she said.
“The program was designed to get average schools involved in robotics,” Floyd said. “We are not looking for engineering students, we are looking for teachers who are dedicated and want to do this.”
Over the course of 8-12 weeks, teams build a programmable LEGO robot that can perform a set of defined tasks. The program culminates with the annual competition at YSU.
“The United States, and especially Ohio, is really lagging behind the rest of the world in producing STEM workers,” Floyd said. “We wanted to get students interested in engineering and science careers by introducing them to robotics.”