This year’s FIRST LEGO League theme is Food Factor! Teams from
around the world research ways to improve food contamination. The students
began their season constructing their robot that they have named, Tsubaki,
which translates to Chameleon Flower. Their robot includes an adjustable arm
that also serves the purpose as a box that can transport mission models.
Attached to the side of their robot is a bin that catches all intended bacteria
and viruses that need to return to base. Robotics team members have completed 6
missions thus far by programming their robot to complete certain tasks on the
robot mat that are universal to all competing and pertain to food
decontamination.

The robotics team also designed an innovative device for the
consumer to use to assist in the decontamination of food. Students are to
research a solution to food decontamination and create a project that can be
presented to the FLL judges. The team first began by looking at different types
of food, what types of contaminants may inhibit them, and what solutions are feasible
for the consumer. The team’s main goal was to create something for the consumer
to use and this was easy for them to create once they began looking into how
factories sanitize their facilities. The robotics team members noticed commonalities
within the use of UV lights, ozone gas, and bacteriophage within these
factories and created the “Germassasin.” This device is shaped like
an iron and has UVc lights on the bottom that pass over food and hard surfaces
to sanitize, as well as ozone gases mixed with water that are applied to the
food that leaves no harmful residue and bacteriophages that can be designated
to kill E Coli., Listeria, or Salmonella which are also mixed with water and
applied as a mist as well. The robotics team has continued their research by
meeting, discussing, and receiving expert feedback from Chubby Cheese Food
Truck, Lawford Baxter of Cut Fresh Foods, and Michael Laiosa, Ph.D. of UWM.

The season will begin the last week in August of 2011. Students will prepare their minds and robots to compete on the theme of FOOD FACTOR!! Think about how you can help preserve food, or transport food without contamination, or even make the food taste better. Think about the inventions now that can be created this fall.

Yes the UE/JH robotics club has programmed their robots to choose directions and solve the maze by reaching the end. The students utilized their Ultrasonic sensors which reacts similar to bat or dolphin sonar. The students have learned to teach or program their bots to choose the next steps to travel by what is detected in their way.

UE-JH Robotics Club has completed their first week of instruction and has exceeded all expectations. The students have been approached with a new methodology to programming that has created 18 Engineers who Observe-Plan-Design-Construct-Measure-Program-and Execute robot programming capabilities to reach their goals. The students are applying their new knowledge and pedagogy resulting in seamless robot maneuvers through obstacle courses. Students will be timed and concepts will be reviewed for improvement.

Do you know what an autonomous robot is? Autonomous robots are robots that can perform desired tasks in environments without continuous human guidance. It is a robot that has been programmed with commands which are stored in the robots brain. There are no remote controlled mechanisms and the robot is as smart as the programs it has downloaded into it. The LE Robotics club members have programmed their robots!! Construction and design took place first with planning and measuring individual moves that their robots would make. The students used mathematical equations to figure out the distance and speed their robot must move to complete and maneuver through the obstacle courses.

Engineers are designers of new innovative solutions for a task or project. The students in robotics club learned about chasiss’, axels, gear trains, and force while they constructed their robot design. Students will then program their robot automonously to preform certain tasks.

Please-Please-Please Follow the link below to VOTE daily for the MMS Elemental Robots for the Global Innovation Award. They have entered their First Lego League research project of Liquid Defense Body Armor and will be chosen for consideration by higher the votes!!!!!!! Vote everyday from your home computer then your work computer, as well as your smart phones and coffee shops. Help us out by posting on your personal Facebook and Twitter pages or send a chain mail. Scroll down on our voting page and click on “Liquid Defense Body Armor” to vote. We have until March 4th to vote, vote, vote!!! Tell your friends, tell your family and even tell your co-workers. We appreciate all your support.

http://fllinnovationaward.firstlegoleague.org/teams/mms-elemental-robots