FIRST Technology Challenge

Picture this; you’re in the woods going on an easy hike. You have a backpack with snacks and a water bottle and maybe an emergency first aid kit, just in case. All of a sudden a big loping creature comes climbing up the hill after you. It’s the size of a deer and moves like a dog that prances. It’s Boston Dynamics BigDog and it’s carrying an enormous amount of bags and materials. BigDog is a dynamically stable quadruped robot that was created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics with Foster Miller, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station. It can maneuver up and down hills, in leaves, in snow, and even on ice. An onboard computer receives input from sensors and manages locomotion, navigation, and balance. It was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to act as a mechanical pack mule in terrain that is too rough for traditional vehicles with wheels or treads. Big Dog’s four legs function with the help of four low-friction hydra

Kathie Kentfield and Jenny Beatty at the 2014 New England District Championship in Boston NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization) was formed twelve years ago when three FIRST Robotics Competition mentors started exchanging information on Chief Delphi, an online forum for FIRST teams.   They realized that even though they were from different areas of the country (California, Connecticut, and Maryland) their teams were experiencing the same struggles – how to plan travel, raise funds, and recruit more mentors among others.   And although there were plenty of resources available for technical topics, not as much existed to support the mentors dealing with the non-technical areas.   They decided to form a virtual organization to provide resources and support to mentors like themselves. Jenny Beatty, co-founder, is the organization’s Chief Learning Officer.   Kathie Kentfield, also a co-founder, is the organization’s Director.   Together they run NEMO.   “But it’s not ‘our’ organizati

Dwight Lundberg, a retired systems programmer, has been a part of the FIRST Tech Challenge community out in Texas for almost five years. He found his niche volunteering as a scorekeeper and computer manager, going above and beyond the call of duty to help serve FTC events.   As his friend Alan Borhorst notes, “Dwight is at the game first thing on Saturday morning and he helps get everything running smoothly.  He is a careful scorekeeper and always has the score sheets prepared in advance.  He stays the entire day and helps us tear down the field and load it back into the trailers and he also helps us put it back into storage.  These are 18 or more hour days.” However, this dedication toward FTC and the student participants who join him at these events did not start off without doubts. Dwight recalls how, although he is “a professional technical person,” he had “no experience with robots” and “doubted his contribution would be valuable”. But as everyone finds when they enter the FIR

  You know it’s almost Halloween when the candy corn starts appearing. The iconic Halloween treat starts showing up at school, at home, and all over the grocery stores. Candy corn was first invented in the 1880s by George Renninger of the Wunderlee Candy Company in Philadelphia, PA. The Goelitz Candy Company started making candy corn in 1900 and still makes it today, although the name has changed to the Jelly Belly Candy Company. When the Goelitz Confectionery Company first produced candy corn, it was called "Chicken Feed". The boxes were illustrated with a colorful rooster logo and a tag line that read "Something worth crowing for." Originally, the cornstarch and sugar mixture was stirred and poured by hand color by color into wooden molds. Today the process is managed by computers and handled by machines. Candy corn is manufactured using a process referred to by confectioners as starch casting. In this process, the shape of a candy or a candy center is formed by m