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Summer tech institute students show off their robo projectsST. CROIX, Jul 03, 2010 (The Virgin Islands Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A tiny, robotic car seemed more like a bloodhound tracking a scent than a piece of machinery wheeling along, as a pair of kids demonstrated Friday how they used a light sensor to direct the car along a black line. First, John Paulus and his partner, Darryl Donohue Jr., had to find the threshold, Paulus said. To do that, they put the light sensor over four differently colored lines and calculated the averages. By doing that, they were able to set the sensor, using computer programming, to search for a black line and follow it, Paulus explained. Donohue then turned on the motorized car, which looked like a miniature military tank, and placed it on a white board with a swerving black line drawn on it. The car emitted a red glow on the board and the car began moving down the line, looking as if it was sniffing back and forth until it found the line again and continued on its way. The demonstration was one of a number put on by the 20 participants of the Boosting the Intellect to STEM Summer Enrichment Institute, which took place over the last two weeks at the University of the Virgin Islands' St. Croix campus. The program, for sixth- through 11th-graders, is focused on stimulating problem-solving skills in its participants, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics -- or STEM. Throughout the two weeks, students arrived at 9 a.m. and began working for the next three hours with NctLOGO, computer software that develops complex models that relate to scientific research, said Michelle Peterson, the program's organizer. After a break for lunch, the students would spend three hours in the afternoons working on robotics engineering, Peterson said, which the participants demonstrated to their friends and family during the closing ceremony at a UVI auditorium Friday. "Every year, they come up with such creative and imaginative things," Peterson said. "They stretch beyond what you think is possible." This year, the program's sixth, the students worked really well in teams, she said. Some of that teamwork was evident when the students presented their robo projects. Donna-May Bernard and Mark Mootoo showed off their ultrasonic- and touch-sensored miniature cars. The touch-sensored car would switch off once it ran into a wall, desk or anything, really, Bernard said. Their second model would be much less destructive for a real car, since it actually prevents the collision. The two hooked up an ultrasonic sensor to the front of one of the cars, which emitted sonic waves that would reflect back off an object in front of it. When a reflected wave bounced back and hit the sensor, the motor would turn off, Bernard said. Mootoo set up the car on a crash course for a cardboard blockade. The car took off and ran straight for the blockade before it stopped, jumping back an inch or so from the barrier. After the student presentations, the three instructors presented the students with certificates. "Once you say the word math, students tend to run away," said instructor Saida Willocks. "And that was the best part for me -- getting to engage the students and to see them interested. Just continue to program, because this is just the foundation." The program was sponsored by UVI and the St. Croix Foundation. The dean of the UVI College of Science and Mathematics, Camille McKayle, attended the event Friday. "I think it's wonderful that they're doing science and having fun and forgetting that it's science," McKayle said. Even if they don't stick to the subjects directly, participants will benefit from the problem-solving skills they learned, she said. Peterson agreed, saying, "I suspect that the students won't realize how much they've gotten out of it right away. It will be more of a delayed effect." As the closing ceremony wound down, the kids started getting restless ... and they looked like they were ready to go eat. "I'm sad it's over, but I know you have other things you want to do this summer," Peterson said. -- Contact Daniel Shea at 773-4425 ext. 457 or e-mail [email protected]. To see more of The Virgin Islands Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Virgin Islands Daily News, St. Thomas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). |