Teresa Woods, a junior at the Connections Visual and Performing
Arts Academy in Tuolumne, started a student robotics club after
attending a conference this summer. She and about 10 other
students are now constructing a robot that they’ll enter into a
worldwide competition. “I really wanted to get this started here
because I’ve noticed a lot of kids don’t see the excitement of
math,” Woods said. “I’ve seen it come about. People have risen
to the occasion.” The students have a challenge to meet: As part
of the international FIRST Robotics Competition, their robot
must retrieve plastic rings from a container and then place them
on a post. The machine will be moving on its own, without a
remote control, for part of the challenge — what the students
call “the autonomous period.” Beginning in September, “Norman”
has commanded an increasing amount of the students’ time.
They’ve built it from the ground up, from conceptual designs to
programming. The finished product will be about 18 inches high,
with an arm that can