Some children use Legos to create windmills or landscapes, but the children who gathered in the Shelby Center Jan. 30 used them to create robots that communicate with Bluetooth technology.
Those children were participants in the 2010 Auburn University Robo Camp.
As a part of the College of Engineering's outreach program, Robo Camp seeks to educate local children ages 10 to 18 on computer and software engineering.
"The idea is we want to excite as many kids as we can for engineering careers, especially computer science," said Ben Brahim, Ph.D. student in computer science and instructor at the camp.
At Robo Camp, children have the opportunity to work with either Lego Mindstorms robots or 3D animation software.
"These are NXT robots; they are a little bit more advanced," Brahim said. "We are still discovering what we can do with them." Brahim said the Lego robots used at the camp function with technology that may be familiar to those who may not be computer engineers. "The idea is for one robot to send a command to three other robots," Brahim said.
For children who prefer a more computer-oriented Robo Camp experience, the camp offers training in the Alice Programming System, a 3-dimensional programming system that allows the user to create animations and video games. "They're really into it," said Joe Shanahan, junior in wireless engineering. "They're going to learn how to use a camera and some filming techniques. Then they'll learn how to combine their animations with their footage, kind of like 'Avatar.'"
Shanahan said what the children create is entirely up to them. "When they're done with the project they'll have a movie that will let them express whatever it is they want to express, whether it's humor or something political or a story," Shanahan said.
Shanahan said the skills children learn at Robo Camp will do more than help them create the next YouTube sensation.
"This will change their lives," Shanahan said. "Video is a powerful experience that will emotionally or logically send a message." Robo Camp may seem like the chance of a lifetime for children interested in software engineering, but Brahim said the program is beneficial for the students who run it as well. "The summer camp has
a students-with-disabilities program where a specialist comes to work with the kids," Brahim said. So the graduate students learn to work with kids with disabilities." Robo Camp has become increasingly popular since its inception.
Robby Hall, ninth-grade student at Auburn Junior High, said he has attended Robo Camp for 5 years.
Last year, Hall's animation project he created at Robo Camp won second place at University of Alabama-Birmingham.
"I wanted first, but I'll take second," Hall said.
Hall said he could not have made it as far in the competition without the lessons he learned at Robo Camp and that people should be open to trying Robo Camp.
"A lot of people should try it," Hall said. "It's good experience if you're into computing and stuff like that or if you want to go into engineering."
Hall's brother, Grady Hall, fourth-grade student at Richland Elementary, said he appreciates every aspect of Robo Camp.
"You get to eat pizza," Grady said. "That's one of the fun things."
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