March 25, 2016
Seven years ago, City Academy embarked on a new program in innovation and design. Robotics was added to our science curriculum for fifth and sixth graders. However, students expressed so much interest in learning more about robotics and programming that our science teacher, Mr. Erik Taylor, provided them the opportunity to further develop their skills every Thursday in Robotics Club.
For the past six years, our robotics curriculum and club have included fifth and sixth graders building, developing, and enhancing robotic vehicles throughout the school year. However, Mr. Taylor wanted to increase the robotics program this year. He decided to add robotics to the third and fourth grade curriculum. While third and fourth graders are now building vehicles in science class, fifth and sixth graders are working not only on developing vehicles but also robotic arms!
Robotic arms was the natural progression for students after working for years solely on creating vehicles. “Making robots is a very relevant topic for students,” explains Mr. Taylor. “There are a lot of jobs in creating new technologies for vehicles, but there is also a rather large industry in developing prosthetic limbs. Because of the injuries in recent wars and the medical advancement that has been made, soldiers are not only surviving injuries but able to receive new prosthetics that function as natural limbs.” By giving scholars the opportunity to learn new technologies at a young age, Mr. Taylor is helping them develop a love of science and providing them with the skills needed in an ever-increasing career field.
Students have been working on their robotic arms all semester. They began with the rapid prototyping phase, building and enhancing a simple structure that would eventually become a robotic arm. This phase includes utilizing 3D computer-aided design (CAD) to create and optimize the design of the robotic arm before creating the structure. Once the prototype is complete, fifth and sixth graders then moved on to the building phase where the robotic arm is created.
These young engineers are now in the final stage of programming their robotic arms. Each arm is unique and moves in various fashions. Some of the robotic arms are created to adhere to a person’s shoulder while others connect to an elbow. A few of the robotic arms have fingers that move individually while other arms have hands that only open and close. However, the design and programming are not the most important factors in this assignment. Mr. Taylor wants his students to continue to develop and enhance their robotic building and programming skills so that they are ready to program at the next phase when they reach secondary school. The end goal for this assignment is that each robotic arms is required to grab and hold an object. But if his students fall in love with science in the meantime, well, that’s just a bonus!
Written by Lindsey Willard, Communications Coordinator