Movie on FIRST Robotics Proves That 'If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It'

A decade ago, WIRED magazine ran a story about four high school students from a tumbledown high school in Phoenix, Ariz., beating MIT in a sophisticated and nationally watched underwater robotics competition. 

The article, La Vida Robot, told the riveting true story about how those four students from Carl Hayden High School—three of them undocumented immigrants from Mexico—defied incredible odds in a 2004 FIRST contest. Using the combined force of $800, old car parts and their own irrepressible ingenuity, the ragtag team of high schoolers claimed victory over a litany of highly funded university teams. 

Readers moved by the indomitable spirit of those four students—Lorenzo Santillan, Luis Aranda, Oscar Vazquez and Crisitan Arcega—donated $90,000 to further their education after learning that their immigration status prevented them from qualifying for federal loans.

The story had legs.

In 2014, a documentary about those four students, titled Underwater Dreams, hit theaters. Narrated by Michael Peña and directed by Mary Mazzio, the film chronicled the incredible true story about the cadre of students struggled against poverty and circumstance to captivate a country in a stunning upset.

It showed how a pair of computer science teachers decided, on a whim, to enter their underperforming, poverty stricken high school into the NASA funded FIRST competition. Only those four boys put their names in the running. But once the team was formed, they conspired to win. calling up oceanic engineers and military scientists for design help. Unable to afford glass syntactic flotation foam, they resorted to PVC pipe from Home Depot, duct tape and, in a last-minute pinch, even a tampon.

At first, their only goal for the contest was to not come in dead last. Instead, as we all know now, they won. In winning, however, they each launched a personal journey to inspire a new generation of young people to pursue science and engineering, to solve problems and elevate their lives beyond even the more dire circumstances. 

Now, the saga has gone Hollywood. In January, Spare Parts hit the big screen, dramatizing the story of the underdog robotics team.

As longtime supporters of FIRST Robotics, it has been incredible to see their story shared with a national audience. Their story is one of many, as FIRST has inspired hundreds of thousands of kids  over the past 25 years to try their hand at robot-building. Among their ranks are more inspiring stories—stories of triumph over defeat, of discovered purpose and changed lives. 

To learn about the teams we're sponsoring this year, check out out previous blog post. 

In the meantime, here's a link to the WIRED magazine article by Joshua Davis that started it all. Here's a link to the documentary. The Spare Parts trailer is posted below. Heads up, though, it's a tear-jerker.

Raising the Profile of Scientists and Engineers Through FIRST Robotics

"The average kid on the street can tell you the names of a dozen football players or basketball players or Hollywood stars. None of them can tell you the name of any famous living scientist or engineer."

—Dean Kamen, inventor, in an interview with CBS News

Right now, we're in the thick of competition season for FIRST Robotics. Some 400,000 kids in more than 80 countries are duking it out in a series of bouts with robots they designed and built themselves. It's all in good fun—intensely competitive and widely watched.

But the primary goal of the robotic sporting spectacle is about something more transformative than thrill of victory. Dean Kamen, the renowned inventor who established FIRST 25 years ago, says the long-running nonprofit promotes a cause near and dear to his heart. And the stakes are high.

"FIRST is all about changing our culture ... for the better," he told CMS Wire earlier this year. "More than 25 years ago, I saw a culture where celebrities and athletes were celebrated and revered, and scientists and engineers were not. I believed then and still believe not that our collective future depends on getting more kids from every background interested and turned onto science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), so that they might seek education and careers in these fields."

We couldn't agree more. 

It's about motivating students to understand, use and enjoy technology through project-based learning.

It's about propelling the next generation of scientists and engineers. 

It's about raising the profile of today's scientists and engineers. 

It's also about legacy, Kamen adds, a way of perpetuating his love of inventing to young people around the world. Kamen, an autodidact who holds more than 400 U.S. and foreign patents, is credited with saving thousands of lives with his healthcare inventions, among a myriad others.

FRC Team 4019 - Bridges Academy - Studio City, CA

Because to invent, ultimately, is to give—something he elaborates on in a TED talk you can watch here. 

It's a message that resonates strongly with us as a manufacturer of guided motion solutions. That's why we proudly support FIRST by donating large quantities of DualVee linear guide track for teams to use in building their robots. We also sponsor several local teams. This season, those teams are:

• FRC Team 1458—Red Tie Robotics, Monte Vista High School in Danville, CA
• FRC Team 3470—The Patriots, Heritage High School in Brentwood, CA
• FRC Team 4019—Bridges Academy, Studio City, CA
• FRC Team 692—The Fembots, St. Francis High School, Sacramento, CA

To learn more about our FIRST sponsorships, including how your team can become a sponsee, click here. 

5 Ways to Fundraise for Your FIRST® Team (or any school program!)

Being sponsored by a big name corporation like Apple, Google or Boeing can be an awesome achievement for your FIRST team, but sponsorships like these are difficult to obtain. Unless you know someone within the company who can point you to the right people, you may get the run around which can waste your time and cause unnecessary frustration. While persistence is key, what happens when you still can’t through to these companies? You may be asking yourself are sponsorships the only way to raise money for my team?

The simple answer is no. There are other ways to raise money for your school program besides fishing for well-known companies. Here are 5 ways to fundraise for your FIRST team:

1. Research Crowdsourcing Opportunities: You can crowdsource through various websites like crowdtilt or kickstarter. These websites were created to help collect, fundraise or pool money. It’s easy to start these webpages and you can easily share these through social channels like Facebook, Twitter and email. While there is a small fee that you have to pay to the websites, which usually is 2.5-5% of the funds raised, the physical work required to raise money is minimal.
2. Host an Event: Whether it’s a carwash, talent show, dance show; the sky is the limit on what type of event you want to host to raise money! Invite your family, friends and neighbors to attend, reminding them that the proceeds are to help your school program. You can also maximize the funds collected by selling water, snacks and other goodies at your event!  
3. Coordinate an Electronic Recycling Drive: There are recycling facilities that are willing to buy your e-waste. Invite your community to donate their electronics to your school. Not only are you funding your program but you’re helping out the earth!
4. Partner with Local Companies: Eat for a cause. Team up with your local restaurant that can host a fundraising event on your school program’s behalf. Some chain restaurants that offer school fundraising opportunities are: Panda Express, Chipotle, Chili’s and more!
5. Have a Garage Sale: Ask family and friends to donate goods they no longer need or want. In-kind donations (physical items) are just as good as monetary donations!

Lastly, don’t lose hope or give up on your fundraising efforts. It’s not an easy task especially if it’s your first time! What successful fundraising ideas are you using to raise money? Please share by commenting below!

Bishop-Wisecarver Group (BWG) embraces and promotes initiatives focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).  These programs are vital for increasing the vibrancy of the American economy and our industrial manufacturing base. Organizations such as FIRST help to bridge the gap between education and the business world by engaging participants in hands-on learning challenges. BWG provides consistent and increasing support of FIRST since 2007 through support of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), and we are proud to continue our support of FIRST future seasons!
 

If you're interested in being sponsored by Bishop-Wisecarver, please check out our corporate sponsorship page!

“Make Mistakes, Learn From Them and Move Forward”

Q&A with FIRST Team 3470 President Logan Dorsey

Bishop-Wisecarver, a Diamond Supplier of the FIRST® Robotics Competition, is committed to inspiring future innovators and supporting Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics (STEM) by sponsoring three local teams in Northern California. In this blog, we are proud to feature President Logan Dorsey of Heritage High School Robotics FRC Team 3470, The Patriots, located in Brentwood, California.

A senior at Heritage High School, Logan has participated in his school’s robotics program since his freshman year.  As if this wasn’t impressive enough, Logan has interned at Google in the video production department, and currently works on side projects that involve programming and building robots. He aspires to attend Yale this fall to study computer science.

Logan, without a doubt, has the talent to be a future innovator in his field of expertise. Learn what he had to say about what it takes to be the President of a FIRST robotics team.

Question:  We understand that the FIRST program has a lot to offer. What do you think about the program and what skills have you gained from it?

LD: I think it’s a great and rewarding program. I have been a part of the robotics team for four years and I’ve gained a lot of skills that I can apply to both school and home. To name a few, I have learned to manage my time, be patient and maintain a good worth ethic. I’ve even gained the skill set to open my own software company.

Question: What challenges have you run into as President of Heritage FRC Team 3470?

LD: When I was appointed as President, I didn’t realize how challenging the position would be. I was the team’s software engineer before taking this leadership role, so I had no idea where to start. Thankfully, I had the guidance from our coach/mentor Mr. Pardi. He’s taught me the importance of team work, how to manage a small team and coordinate the many processes that needs to come together to building a robot. Mr. Pardi has encouraged my own personal growth as well as our team’s that we had him nominated for the FIRST Compass Award, which recognizes his outstanding guidance and support. We were ecstatic that he won!

Question: As much challenges your team has run into, what would you say your team’s greatest accomplishments are this season?

LD:  With scheduled restrictions and commitments it has been very hard to get the team together, however, we’ve taken long strides since we started this season. We’ve improved our building process from building one part of the robot at a time to dedicating different members of the team to sections of the robot. We’ve change an important mechanism of our robot in three weeks and we placed 14^th out of 36 teams at the Northern California FTC Championship on February 22^nd in Newark, CA.

 

Question: With this being your last year, what would be your advice to your teammates?

LD: Make mistakes, learn from them and move forward.

[ VIDEO ] 2013 First Robotics Competition Sacramento Regional

Bishop-Wisecarver is proud to be a Diamond Supplier this year of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) — we're even more proud of the teams we sponsor. Their hard work is an inspiration to us all, and it's an honor to share their journey's with you.

In this video you will see exclusive coverage shot by the BWC team on Friday, March 22 in Davis, California. You will also meet two team members from the Fembots #692.

Meet the Vacaville Robodogs Team #2085: "We're More Than Ready"

Bishop-Wisecarver is proud to be a Diamond Supplier this year of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) — we're even more proud of the teams we sponsor. These groups of students, mentors, and volunteers are dedicated to the cause, and it's an honor to share with you their story.

This week, we'd like to feature team #2085 located in Vacaville, CA at Vacaville High School. This is our first year as a sponsor of the Robodogs, but it's not their first year to battle. With more than six years of participation under their belt, the team knows the ins and outs of participating in FRC.

After working for more than 36 hours straight to meet the season's build deadline, the team's CFO Tyler K. took time out to meet with us for a Q&A session.

To see a photo gallery update of the team, click here.

Question: We recognize that FIRST is not just about building a robot. What else does this competition encompass for you, and what are you learning as you prepare for the competition?

Answer: For me, it’s a lot of working with people and about building managerial skills, like getting a group to work collectively towards one goal. FIRST is a lot about people, and lots of problem solving; working one on one to resolve interpersonal conflicts.

I do all the budgets, team logistics, and one hundred percent of the team’s travel coordination and planning. I do a lot of the paperwork that goes along with the normal presidency that we've had in years past, as well.

Courtesy of Team #2085

Question: What do you think your team is best at? Do you think that you and the other team members have discovered new interests and talents through FIRST thus far, and if so, what are they?

Answer: I would say our team is best at formulating ideas and shooting for the stars. We engage in a lot of theoretical engineering. We know AutoCAD. We do spend a lot of time on the idealistic, conceptual aspects.

Personally, I’d originally wanted to be a neuroscientist, but after going through FIRST build season I realized I’d rather lead and manage than do the actual technical work.

Question: Which aspect(s) of the FIRST Robotics Competition is your team most excited about and why?

Answer: I enjoy the actual competition. The team is excited about seeing other teams’ designs as well as the different ideas that were generated, and being a part of the collective engineering community.

Question: FIRST provides many opportunities to enhance and engage different skill sets. What skills are your team members building and do you plan to use these skills in the future, such as in a field or career you’re interested in pursuing?

Courtesy of Team #2085

Answer: A lot of them go into engineering careers. About six out of the seven of the engineering majors go into mechanical or electrical engineering. And 85-90% of the graduating seniors that participate in FIRST go into engineering. Twenty-five percent of MIT's incoming freshman participated in FIRST. Teri Benart, a FIRST Regional Manager, shared a lot of these fun facts with me.

Question: Even though we’re not to the competition yet, we know that sometimes it’s not just about the outcome, but about the process as well. What are your team’s greatest accomplishments thus far?

Answer: I would say that the amount of work and the dedication from each team member is one of the team’s greatest accomplishments.

Our first competition is this Friday—the Central Valley Competition that will be held in Madera.

Spiritually and motivationally speaking, I think we are more than ready.

When we go through build season, there is something everyone takes away from it, and that it could not be done without gracious sponsors such as Bishop-Wisecarver Group.

FIRST Robotics Boosts Academic Confidence

THE GAME PLAN Keep it simple. That's the strategy this year for Middle College High School's robotics club going into the FIRST Robotics Challenge (FRC) this year. It's a lesson the group  learned a couple years ago when they built a robot too complicated for the tasks at hand.

"We learned the hard way and more isn't always better," said 17-year-old senior Megan Spears, who's got a few years in the robotics program under her belt. "This time it's all about narrowing down the functions, figuring out what it needs to do and just making it do that."

So what does the robot need to do in this year's "Rebound Rumble" contest? Balance, for one thing, and shoot basketballs through hoops.

"It seems like a little, but there's a lot of strategy that goes into it," Spears told us during a visit to the San Pablo campus last week. "There are so many other teams — it's really, really competitive."

This means every detail is all that more critical. Interesting to us because that epiphany stemmed from a throwback video game, and the suggestion to stop playing and get to work by their math teacher and robotics adviser, Eric Reed.

"I was playing Tetris before class one day, just killing time, when he told me to put the game down," Spears said. "Well later that night, he had the idea to make our robot L-shaped, like a Tetris block, because it may help it balance during one part of the challenge."

Spears said she credits Tetris for putting the idea in Reed's head.

"I told him later he should thank me," Spears joked.

MORE THAN JUST A CONTEST The national robotics contest isn't just about the challenge on game day — at regionals or nationals. It's more about the journey, said Spears. She reluctantly joined her school's FIRST team a few years ago, bribed by the promise of extra credit. Over time, she was rewarded with skills she never expected to acquire — engineering know-how, design, mechanical problem solving.

"And a strong sense of how to work as a team," she added. "I've learned how to brainstorm ideas and solutions in new ways, and to think creatively or just to not be afraid to come up with out-of-the-box ideas."

Bishop-Wisecarver has had the privilege of watching that intellectual growth throughout the years since we first sponsored her team a few years ago. Just last year, one of our engineers, Brian Burke, stopped by her class to check out the progress on their build.

[ Read Burke's takeaway from that visit here ] Burke said he was nothing short of impressed by the team's work. The robot's sophistication surpassed his expectations, he noted, and demonstrated the ingenuity of the students. Last year, he wrote:

Truly professional engineering level software is provided and utilized for the FIRST robots. One student was working on full 3D models of the robot build using AutoCAD Inventor. Another student was working on the control and feedback system in LabVIEW. The introduction of these tools and their real world applications is invaluable for students to experience.

The same holds true for this year's group, which is comprised of several of the same students, who spend many weekday evenings and Saturday mornings poring over their sizable robotic creation or computer screens, designing, tinkering, figuring things out.

A STAND-OUT GROUP We write a lot about the FIRST teams we sponsor, especially since we've stepped up as "Diamond Suppliers" for FIRST in addition to our independent team sponsorships. Every robotics club we support has its own dynamic, its own personality or mix of personalities.

Middle College High stands out to us because of their around-the-clock dedication to the project, it's the type of commitment that means adults don't have to remind them to get their work done.

Spears feels like they're doing it on their own, mainly because they're curious, creative and competitive. "These students do a lot," Reed agreed. "This isn't your ordinary high school."

Middle College High has a special curriculum, designed for students with lots of potential but have poor grades. Counselors, teachers and parents identify those students, help them apply and get them enrolled in college courses alongside their regular schoolwork. By the time Middle College kids reach senior year, many of them already have their Associate's degree — Spears included.

Extracurricular clubs like robotics are part of what makes the school an intensive precursor to college. The hands-on experience is priceless.

"I'm sure it's prepared me in ways I can't even imagine yet," said Spears, who plans to major in astronomy or chemical engineering. "I'm really confident. I feel ready ... I definitely have a head start."

FIRST Student Spotlight: Aspiring Engineer Peter Heath

A HEAD START When Peter Heath sat down to write his college admission essay, the topic was a no-brainer: FIRST Robotics. The program taught him the fundamentals of designing and building robots that actually work.

Today, four years after his first competition in a FRC challenge, the 18-year-old aspiring aerospace engineer is wrapping up his final year at California High School in San Ramon. Heath told us during our visit to his campus this week that he just found out that his application to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's mechanical engineering program was accepted.

"That was my first choice," he told us during a break from coaching younger students in a robot building session on Wednesday. "So I'm pretty excited about that. It's one of the top engineering schools in the country."

Since Bishop-Wisecarver sponsors local FIRST teams, including the team at California High School, we've known Heath for a few years and have watched his skills develop. As FIRST Diamond Sponsors in 2012, we're excited to see him apply his talents to this year's competition.

THE CHALLENGE AHEAD FIRST attracts more and more teams each year, and the 2012 competition is tougher than ever. The theme, Rebound Rumble, requires kids to build robots that can shoot basketballs into hoops.

Heath is one of the lead designers, and on one recent afternoon he spent his time after class fielding questions from his peers and younger students, trying to work out some wiring difficulties on the 4-foot-high rolling robot.

"The game is very different this year," he said. "We just have to build a robot with different functions. The challenge always changes."

Four weeks into the build, Heath said he and his team are still trying to figure things out. But all those years of leadership and problem-solving have come in handy for Heath. When another student asks a question, Heath has a ready answer.

NEW BEGINNINGS As Heath prepares to leave his high school career behind him for a new chapter in college, his robotics teacher John Reed is just getting started. Reed spent years as an engineer for Intel before deciding to pursue teaching two years ago. This marks his first school year at Cal High and his first foray into the world of high school robotics competitions.

"Honestly, I just let them do their thing," Reed said from his office. "They've been doing this a while, so they know how to organize, how to figure things out on their own. I'm just here to advise if they need it."

The classroom mentor, mechatronics mastermind Stewart Leicester, says that's the best way to get kids to learn engineering — let them figure things out.

"It's the hands-on stuff they'll take with them to the workplace," he said.

Heath agreed.

"So many practical things I've learned in FIRST, like how to operate mills, lathes, laser and 3D printers," he said. "I can use all those things in a real workplace. Even if I don't operate them directly, I'll manage people who do, so it helps knowing how they work."

A LOOK BACK AT FIRST COVERAGE OF CALIFORNIA HIGH Take a look at some of our previous interviews with Cal High students in this video — [ Having Fun: That's What Counts ] Read up on our past FIRST coverage that is archived [ on our blog ]
 

Catching Up With Our Heritage High Robotics Team

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS Five years ago, the Heritage High School robotics team in Brentwood, CA, went into the FIRST Tech Challenge with robots literally held together in some places by rubber bands. Their coach and robotics teacher Robert Pardi barely had enough money to sign up for the FTC, a national small robot contest. In fact, the only reason he could even start that year is because a parent of one of his students worked at Bishop-Wisecarver and offered to put him in touch with the company in hopes of a sponsorship.

"You guys helped get us going," Pardi told us this week when we stopped by his class for a visit. "With that money, we were able to buy a basic kit ... and yeah, it really took off from there."

Did it ever!

This year, his students created a sophisticated 25-pound remote controlled robot made up of 1,200-plus parts. Some of the students who have been there since the beginning are now high school seniors with years of experience in design, club politics, strategy, marketing and community involvement, plus all those little things one can only learn from logging in hours on a project.

"We've definitely made a lot of progress since I first started," said 17-year-old Michael Kintscher, one of the robotic club's lead designers and a member since his freshman year. "There's a lot you can't know until you've done this, until you've tested things in the field."

A BIG WIN Affirmation of that progress came in the form of a big win last weekend (which we blogged about on Tuesday). We took that as our cue to swing by after class to catch up with Pardi and his students. The Patriots, as the team's called, took home an Inspiration Award — the top prize at the regional FTC contest on Sunday.

The victory was unexpected, Pardi told us, and it's proof that his students are on the right track. Now the kids are all fired up, more than ever, for the next phase of the competition: Another regional showdown in March.

Kintscher told us he's using what he learned in the heat of battle to come up with a solid strategy for the team's next bout. But he feels confident that his team has an added advantage already since most of the team has years of experience and they use CAD software to design their robot.

"Every year the game is different, but there's a lot you can carry over that helps," he said, adding that what really caught the judges' eyes on Sunday was a digital animation of their design displayed on a monitor for all to see.

"No other team was doing that," he told us. "It definitely made us stand out."

KEEPING MOMENTUM Now that the team has been around for a few years, Pardi told us, they've earned a stellar reputation on campus. With about 20 members this year, word's getting out that there's something cool going on in the engineering lab. Friends of friends who were too late in signing up this school year are helping out on their own time without credit and plan to enlist next fall. One of those volunteers was at the lab on Tuesday when we popped in.

"The biggest appeal initially is the wow factor," said Kintscher. He believes that students are initially drawn in by the fun of making a robot but what keeps students is all that FIRST has to offer through it's competitions, celebrity involvements and scholastic opportunities. "If you keep it interesting, you get more people coming in wanting to find out how they can get involved."

That initial spark of interest often evolves into something longer-lasting, Pardi said, as soon as parents and the students themselves find out how much they glean from being part of an academic team. He looks to his current students as proof.

"They've improved so much in attitude, intensity, the way that they work with one another," he said. "They're able now to encourage each other and work out their disagreements. There's been tremendous progress, even in their personal life. Some of them have really come out of their shells."

Big Win for the Heritage High Robotics Team!

One of the high school robotics teams we are sponsoring this year for FIRST just shared some exciting news with us — and we want to spread the word on the web! Our group of Heritage High robot-makers extraordinaire — team name: The Patriots — took home the Inspire Award for best overall team at a FIRST Tech Challenge regional qualifier this past weekend. Awesome job!

The trophy means this group of students had the most well-rounded team out of the few-dozen that competed in the competition. Their coach and robotics teacher Robert Pardi told us the Inspire Award is the top prize at regionals. Why did they win? Pardi said the students were recognized for their up-to-date journal of robot building, plans and strategies. The students also stay engaged in the local community, he said. All those things contributed to the prize.

"It was phenomenal," said Pardi of the honor. "It's confirmation that we're on the right track."

The recognition has boosted the students' resolve, he added. Now they're all fired up about the next big contest — the Northern California Robotics Championship coming up on March 4. Seeing other high school teams in action gave Pardi's students a better idea of how to strategize, so they can go into the next championship with renewed confidence and a fine-tuned approach.

“They were literally jumping for joy — they couldn’t believe it," said Pardi about his students' reaction to the news. "We thought we’d walk away with one award, but now they’re blown away that they got the top prize. It's great. This ranks us as one of the top teams in California."

If the team fares well at the March event, they'll get to go to the final championship in St. Louis, Missouri. So the stakes are high!

From all of us here at Bishop-Wisecarver, a big congratulations to students Zach Crosley, Michael Kintscher, Holly Kraeber, Brittany Kintscher, Joseph Cliscagne and Jacob Olsen for their exceptional work this week! For more details about the upcoming competition, check out www.norcalftc.org.

Our Weekly List of Top 10 Twitter Posts — Week 3

Twitter exploded with strong opinions, arguments and protests over a proposed anti-piracy law that could potentially censor the internet. We followed the conversation all week, tweeting about it, linking to interesting news articles and discussions about SOPA — the Stop Online Piracy Act. But that's not all that caught our eye during the hubbub of this week's heated national discourse. Every Friday we give some of those re-tweetable Twitter gems a second go in the spotlight, and we've summed up the best for you right here. Enjoy! And talk to us this week @BWCnews.

Credit: Made in USA News

1. Dismantling Detroit on the Bishop-Wisecarver Daily: Two filmmakers head to the falling-apart birthplace of America's middle class to talk to the scrappers, people dismantling the once-industrial hub. The recession-bludgeoned City of Detroit is often considered a bellwether for where the rest of the country is headed, which piqued the movie-makers' interest in the place. This short film will precede a feature-length op-documentary titled Detropia that's set to release in the next year or so. Riveting.

2. Fossil Hermit Crab Named After Michael Jackson on PhysOrg.com: Science gave homage to the King of Pop this week by naming a newly discovered prehistoric species of hermit crab Mesoparapylocheles Michaeljacksoni. The team of paleontologists saw news of Jackson's death later that same day they made their discovery, according to an article just published in a German scientific journal. Click through to read the rest of the article — it's a pretty cool discovery, with or without the entertaining name!

3. Three Generations of NASA Mars Rovers on NASA.gov: Check out this snapshot of the entire lineage of NASA-made Martian explorers. It's like a robot family photo!

4. Bishop-Wisecarver Gets Listed in the Novus Buyer's Guide: We're excited to become part of this free online database, the "Who's Who of Green Technology Companies". So much so that we had to share the link with you on our blog here. Yet one more way to find us out there in cyberspace!

Credit: Google

5. Is Google Getting Too Personal? on PD&D Design Daily: We're excited to be a new G+ member and we're still navigating the new network to gain followers and learn its ins and outs. But this commentator has a point for all who use it as a personal profile — is it a little unsettling that Google taps into its G+ profiles to customize search results and rework those rankings per individual user? What are your thoughts?

6. The New Rules of Marketing — Hire a Journalist on CMSwire.com: We knew this one already, as evidenced by the fact that most of the BWC marketing department is made up of former newspaper reporters. It makes sense, though, since good marketing involves content creation, research and personal brand to promote the larger one.

7. Cash Prizes for Young Inventors on USfirst.org: We're always plugging the FIRST Robotics program because we're proud to be Diamond Sponsors and we believe in the organization's mission so strongly. We geeked out learning that the science education nonprofit will offer young engineers some generous cash gifts and a shot at patenting their invention. It's called the FIRST Future Innovator Award, and you should click through the link for more details about how you or someone you know can sign up!

Credit: Fox News

8. The Difference Between Weird and Eccentric? Wealth on 1x57.com: Cisco co-founder Sandy Lerner was interviewed as part of a documentary about start-up culture in the U.S. called Something Ventured. Check out this video clip that features part of the film where Fox interviews Lerner as she talks about being fired by her own company. The highlight is her response to a question of whether she considers herself eccentric. "I am, now that I'm rich," she quipped. "I used to just be weird."

9. Bringing Jobs Home — How Do We Get There? on Manufacturing.net: It's been the topic of conversation in the industry all last year and the discussion will continue to make headlines in 2012, we're sure. Here's a column on the subject that caught our eye.

Credit: Wired Mag

10. Confessions of a Celebrity Ghost Tweeter on WiredMag.com: Some A-listers prefer to tweet themselves, others hire marketing teams to project the celebrity brand to their fans. Ghost tweeting isn't relegated just to the entertainment industry, though. Lots of businesses hire marketers to take over the micro-blogging duties for them. Wired Magazine put out this interesting Q&A with a professional tweeter, who we found pretty insightful. In it, she compares tweeting for a client to acting, because she has to learn their lingo and take on their unique voice. It's not exactly what we do in the industrial B2B space ... and at BWC, we keep the voices unique. In fact, we often tag our tweets with the author's initials. And the company prez? She has a handle all her own: @Peekan. Another good tweep to follow!

Catching Up on Math and Science Through FIRST® at Heritage High School — Female Club President Gets Involved

Until recently, math and science never came easily to Holly Kraeber. The 17-year-old says her smarts are more creative and managerial than technical. But that didn't stop her from stepping up this year as the first-ever female president of Heritage High School's robotics team, which she plans to lead through a series of FIRST® robotics tournaments culminating in the national championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

"I joined this club last year because my friends did," said Holly, a senior at Heritage High School in Brentwood, Calif. "But I started to get more and more involved ... it definitely helped me catch up in math and science because I got to see their practical applications."

Holly is one of 20 students in Heritage High's robotics club which includes two participating FIRST FTC teams, and Bishop-Wisecarver is proud to be one of their 2012 team sponsors. It's one of a few teams we're sponsoring, actually, and the first one we met with face to face this year. We also donated some of our linear and rotary motion products to the FIRST for students, which makes us "Diamond Sponsors" of the nonprofit founded by owner-of-many patents Dean Kamen.

THE CHALLENGE BWC's marketing team stopped by Heritage High after school last week to meet some of the students in the robotics/engineering lab. Robert Pardi, their adviser, said the kids are starting to hash out their small robot designs on CAD to meet the championship theme this year: "Bowled Over." The challenge for 2012 is to design robots that could pick up some plastic balls, pack them into crates and stack those crates for extra points.

Students have to design a robot that can scoop, lift and independently maneuver around obstacles in a fenced-off ring against another robot. It's going to take months to contrive, build and tweak a robot that can hold its own in a national contest, Pardi said. But his teams — 4648 and 3470 — have more of an edge than ever.

HAVING A COMPETITIVE EDGE "They have more experience, for starters," said Pardi. "The entire program [at Heritage High] is about four years old, so we have kids who have been here for years now. They've become really good at this."

Another plus: Heritage High got a sneak peek at the competition when the school hosted the Challenge East Bay Qualifier Robotics Tournament last month, a preliminary contest to the FIRST Tech Challenge in March. As the host teams, they couldn't compete, but they definitely got to see a lot of other robotics designs for the "Bowled Over" challenge.

"We got plenty of ideas from it," said Michael Kintscher, 17, who's in his third year in the robotics program. "We got a game plan ... we've also learned the value of research that others have done before you. We can see what other people have come up with and use that as a starting point to figure out what we can do that's new and different."

THE GAME PLAN We'll keep you posted on the team's progress as the season moves forward. We'll post videos, photos, articles and Q&As of the teams' journey to nationals. And we'll introduce you to our other sponsored teams at California High School and Middle College High — both Bay Area schools — once we meet them in person, too. We can't wait!

[ For more on what FIRST is all about, read this recent blog post! ]

Bowling Robots, Science-Savvy Students and Fierce Competition: Must be FIRST Season, and We're Very Excited!

Our linear motion components are building blocks used by more than just mechanical engineers in the work force! Future engineers use our products too!

We've donated products to be used in the 2012 FIRST competition, making us corporate "Diamond Sponsors" of an organization created by renowned inventor Dean Kamen that is laying the foundation for students to pursue careers in science and technology. We think that's pretty cool!

We are also excited to be separately sponsoring high school teams from both FRC (large robots) and FTC (small robots) competitions — a company tradition since 2007. The photo on the right shows California High School students working on their robot before the 2010 FRC competition. As part of the design, UtiliTrak, a compact linear guide using DualVee Motion Technology, was used to move parts of the robot back and fourth. Exciting stuff!

[ For a little background, here's a column Bishop-Wisecarver President Pamela Kan wrote about FIRST last year for Product Design and Development ]

What's FIRST all about? FIRST regionals take place every year across the country between participating high schools in both FRC and FTC competitions — thousands of teams compete in games with autonomous or remote-controlled robots, and the games are fierce and fun! Winning teams then move on up to the national championships for the big winning title.

The idea is to make science, technology, engineering and math (or STEM, as we say) exciting for kids. If you've ever been to a FIRST event, then you've seen that vision realized. We love seeing the focus, involvement, passion and creativity students display when preparing and competing in these things.

Credit: FIRST.org

We haven't announced which teams we are sponsoring just yet, but we get to meet the students and teachers from one of these teams later this week. Watch out for our video and blog posts to follow. Exciting! In the meantime, we've been reading up on this season's competition, and it looks pretty intense! The championship takes place in the spring, but students have already started designing, building and programming their robots. A lot of time, effort and thought go into perfecting the designs and tweaking the robot.

One of the FTC team advisers we spoke to said his students are figuring out how to optimize their robots for the theme (each year students are faced with a new theme). The name of the FTC game has been announced, and this time around it's called "Bowled Over". The goal? Get your robot to move racquet balls into crates and then stacking those crates for extra points. Sounds like a challenge, but we're sure our teams are up for it! Ready to rock 'n bowl?!

The larger robotic competition, FRC, will be announced on Jan. 7 next year from a NASA-televised event in Manchester, New Hampshire. This 2012 kickoff will mark the beginning of the design and build season for students all over the country. Good luck to all teams! May the "FRC" be with you.

FIRST Impressions: By Brian Burke, Project Engineer

I recently had the opportunity to observe and assist FIRST Robotics Competition team #3717 during a work session at Middle College High School.  Sure, I had some preconceived knowledge about what FIRST involved.  My employer Bishop-Wisecarver has been a sponsor of student teams for the past few years, and I even spent a few hours on the internet reading about the competitions and watching the videos.  Actually seeing the components and meeting student team members shed additional light on this amazing phenomenon.

The FIRST robots start out as a kit of parts.  These kits include a surprising array of components including electric motors, aluminum frames, electrical wires, batteries, fasteners, drive wheels, pneumatic system components, sophisticated electronics and computer software.  The kit includes just about everything you would need to get a basic robot moving.  The technology included in the robot kit was surprising.

I really did not expect to see the sophisticated control system in the robot kit.  Sure, I expected remote control electronics but I thought they would consist of typical radio control components.  Instead, the FIRST robots will be controlled using a Logitech joystick attached to a netbook.  Wireless control of the robot is handled thru netbook software using the integrated WiFi network to a D-Link wireless router on the robot itself.  The WiFi connections allow for the inclusion of a wireless webcam for live streaming video back to the netbook.  The robot can be driven beyond line of sight such as around walls and corners using the camera.  Additional electronic hardware included the compact RIO module, digital I/O module, digital sourcing module, relays, solenoid valve, speed controller, breakout boards, sensors, fuse panels, and circuit breakers.  All of the electronics are provided as components.  Complete wiring must be completed by the team from available wire diagram drawings. This isn’t the kind of remote control I’m used to seeing on model airplanes and cars.

Truly professional engineering level software is provided and utilized for the FIRST robots.  One student was working on full 3D models of the robot build using AutoCAD Inventor.  Another student was working on the control and feedback system in LabVIEW.  The introduction of theses tools and their real world applications is invaluable for students to experience.  

The real challenge for the student teams is to design and build the actuators and functional attachments to the robots. This task involves creative mechanisms and power transmission concepts.  I spent most of my time with team captain Brian Orr.  To effectively utilize their limited time, he had several small groups working on the various sections of their robot at the same time.  The goal for the day was to complete the design and fabrication of a pneumatic actuator which must extend then grab and release an inflated ring.  They had selected the pneumatic system with cylinder and solenoid control to act as their actuator.  The assembly would pull on a string to grab the inside diameter of the inflatable ring.  Testing of this system went very well during my visit.

It was clear that FIRST team #3717 is well on their way to creating a remarkable competition robot using industry quality components and software.  The experiences they gain during this process will apply directly to modern employment opportunities in many industries.  To everyone involved in the FIRST Robotics Competition, I salute you.
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To watch the latest webisode from the Middle College High School about preparing for the FIRST competition, click here. To learn more about FIRST, click here to view their website.

Uses the arrows to click through our student video playlist.

PD&D Editorial on FIRST by Pamela Kan

Discovering and developing a passion for science, technology, engineering and math.

"I first learned about the FIRST program while traveling with one of my salesmen. We called on several companies where somewhere within the course of the meeting one of the engineers would reveal their involvement as a mentor in a group called FIRST. I realize now that these mentors during the time of the competition are extremely dedicated and devote many hours to their teams and probably think of little else..."

Read the full story on PD&D >>

Inspiring Next Generation of Innovators

03/30/2010: BISHOP-WISECARVER INSPIRES NEXT GENERATION OF INNOVATORS
AS SILVER SUPPLIER OF THE FIRST® ROBOTICS COMPETITION [ VIEW ]

Pittsburg, CA - - March 29, 2010 - - Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation, manufacturer of the original DualVee guide wheel and industry leader in guided motion technology, announced today that for the fourth consecutive year it has joined forces with FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a not-for-profit organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology, as a Silver Supplier of the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC®).

The FIRST Robotics Competition Silver Supplier level designates a contribution between $10,000 and $50,000. Bishop-Wisecarver provided an in-kind contribution of $29,000 for the 2010 FRC Kit of Parts which was distributed to more than 1,800 teams of high-school students on January 9, 2010.

In addition to the charitable contribution to the FIRST Robotics Competition Kit of Parts, Bishop-Wisecarver is co-sponsoring three local high schools. “We have been closely following the teams’ progress in their designing and building of their robots for the regional competitions, says Pamela Kan, President of Bishop-Wisecarver. It’s been an amazing experience to watch the excitement these students exude, their teamwork, and the utilization of their science and math skills as they turn their innovative ideas and designs into reality.”

“Bishop-Wisecarver is a generous supporter of the FIRST Robotics Competition,” said FIRST president, Paul R. Gudonis. “As a Silver Supplier, Bishop-Wisecarver greatly helps us to achieve our vision: ‘to create a world where science and technology are celebrated… where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.”

By providing components for the competition, FIRST suppliers are putting the latest technology in the hands of students, giving them the opportunity to apply the same tools used by professional scientists and engineers and ultimately helping them learn real-world skills they will carry into the workplace.

Since 1992, FIRST has brought the excitement of a sporting event to science and technology via robotics competitions. On January 9, the organization unveiled the annual engineering challenge to teams, who also received a Kit of Parts made up of 577 items including motors, batteries, a control system, a PC, and a mix of automation components – but no instructions. Working with mentors, students now have just six weeks to design, build, program, and test their robots in preparation for regional events that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of collaboration, and the determination of students.

In the 2010 FRC “Breakaway” robotics game, two alliances of three teams will compete on a 27-by-54-foot field with bumps, attempting to earn points by collecting soccer balls in goals. Additional bonus points will be earned for each robot suspended in air and not touching the field at the end of the match.

More than 45,000 students from 12 countries will design and build robots to compete in regional events with winners advancing to the FIRST Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, April 15-17, 2010. Participating students are eligible to apply for nearly $12 million in scholarships offered by leading universities, colleges, and companies.

For more information on Bishop-Wisecarver, visit www.bwc.com
 

Information regarding the company’s sponsorship and funding policy, click here

For event schedules, sponsorships or other information about FIRST or the FIRST Robotics Competition, visit www.usfirst.org

FRC Team #2628 Prepares For the Big Game!

The 2010 FRC (FIRST Robotic Competition) for high-school students is in motion, and Bishop-Wisecarver is sponsoring TEAM #2628 Treasure Island Pirates from San Francisco, CA -- This is a video of their progress as of February 2010. Instructor Bob Christensen and his team of students are hard at work to meet their upcoming deadline.

Team #3470 is Feeling Anxious About HotShots!

Heritage High Robotics Club, Part 2 -- While the February deadline is fast approaching, the Heritage High Robotic Club works harder. The students look forward to their first HOTSHOTS! Competition, and expect the unexpected on competition day.

Teacher Rob Pardi from Heritage High School and his team of ten students will be competing in the FIRST Tech Challenge for Northern California called HotShots! on February 27, 2010 at Pioneer High School in San Jose.

FIRST Robotics Team #1516 Working Hard

February 11, 2010 – Bishop-Wisecarver stopped by the robotic club classroom at California High School to watch FRC Team #1516 hard at work in preparation for the 2010 FIRST Robotics Competition. Senior Glenn Carros (left) makes an adjustment to the robot with help from a fellow team member. FRC Team 1516 sponsored by Bishop-Wisecarver Corporation® www.bwc.com

Bishop-Wisecarver Sponsors FRC Team #1516

February 2, 2010 -- California High School instructor John Korzick and club mentor Stewart Leicester of FRC Team #1516 stopped by Bishop-Wisecarver today to visit with co-founder Bud Wisecarver.

Bishop-Wisecarver is pleased to sponsor Team #1516, and look forward to their progress.

To see more photographs and follow updates from Bishop-Wisecarver, friend us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @BWCnews >> Learn more on our website at http://www.bwc.com/

To learn more about the FIRST Robotic Challenge, visit the US FIRST website here.



(Click on the photographs for a larger view)