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FORT LEWIS, Wash. - Pioneer middle school students in Kurt
Bethman's Gateway to Technology class in DuPont, Wash., got a rare
treat May 29, 2015 ... when Soldiers from 570th Sapper Company,
864th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, paid them a visit
and brought a little something special with them ... robots.
Gateway to Technology is a middle school program developed by
Project Lead the Way, a national nonprofit organization that
partners schools to implement a curriculum that emphasizes hands-on
experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in
an effort to prepare students for academic and professional success
in these disciplines.
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Soldiers with the 570th Sapper Company, 864th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade and the students of Kurt Bethman's Gateway to Technology class at Pioneer Middle School in DuPont, Wash., end their day together May 29, 2015, with a group photo. The two partnered together to create a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, outreach program for the middle school students and aims to help supplement the school by showing students the application of the subjects they learn.(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Patricia McMurphy)
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“What's nice about this class as opposed to the
traditional classroom it that the kids are up, they're
moving, they are problem solving and working in teams, and
they get to build things and have instant feedback,” said
Bethman.
There are two courses under the STEM
umbrella offered at the Pioneer middle school, design and
modeling and a robotics class.
“In the robotics class
the students learn about the mechanisms, torque and speed
and they start programming and using motors.” said Bethman.
“It's fun and they really enjoy it.”
Robots are a way
to get kids interested in engineering and the Soldiers from
555th Engineer Brigade seemed more than happy to show this
class just a small portion of how robots assist them in
their day-to-day missions.
The platoon brought out
three of their robots, the PackBot, the FirstLook and the
Talon, to show the students and give the each a couple
minutes on each one to complete a simulated training
exercise.
Military robots come in different shapes
and sizes as per the task they are designated for. The
iRobot 510 PackBot can perform bomb disposal, surveillance
and reconnaissance, CBRN detection and hazardous materials
handling operations; the iRobot 110 FirstLook, or the
“throwbot” as the Soldiers called it because it could be
thrown into a room, is a lightweight robot that provides
immediate situational awareness and investigates dangerous
and hazardous materials; and “the big guy,” the
Foster-Miller TALON, a tracked military robot designed for
missions ranging from reconnaissance to combat.
One
of the tasks was for the students to use the PackBot to
locate a simulated improvised explosive device, then return
the robot back to their location to load the grip arm with a
fake charge then return to the IED and blow up in place, a
safe distance from their location.
The students
controlled the robot from a laptop with a controller that
looks similar to ones used on PlayStations.
“You
would be amazed how intuitive they pick up on this stuff,”
said 1st Lt. Anthony Frisone, platoon leader, 555th Engineer
Brigade. “We came out on Tuesday and gave them a crash
course on how to operate the robots and they were pretty
much pushing us out of the way to get stick time.”
According to the PLTW website, in the Automation & Robotics
course, students use the VEX Robotics platform to design,
build, and program real-world objects such as traffic
lights, toll booths, and robotic arms similar to those on
the Army robots they got to try out.
“They are a very
smart group of kids, they have some background in robotics
already, so as soon as they get can get some hand-on some
equipment like this they are all about it,” said Frisone.
PLTW Gateway provides engineering curriculum for middle
school students that challenges, inspires and offers schools
variety and flexibility. Students get rigorous and relevant
experiences through activity, project and problem-based
learning and for some, a chance to meet, greet and learn
from Army Solders specialized in the field.
“This is
the first year we have been lucky enough to have this
partnership,” said Bethman. “Hopefully it will continue for
many more years.”
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Patricia McMurphy
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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