Templeton Robotics needs a computer with more bytes for competition
Credit to Author: Kevin Griffin| Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2020 23:23:09 +0000
An east Vancouver high school is looking for a computer with more bytes to it to help in a robotics competition next month in Victoria.
Templeton Robotics will be at a disadvantage from the start with a 10-year-old IBM ThinkPad when it goes up against other Pacific Regional robotics teams.
The laptop is so old the IBM logo literally fell off a few days ago, said Kai Chen, the 18-year-old who is president of the team at Templeton Secondary School, 727 Templeton Drive. The 45-person team includes senior, junior, all-female and Grade 8 divisions.
The practical limitations of the laptop affects what robotics students can do.
Chen pointed out that the laptop has only two USB ports: one used for a joystick, the other for the robot. Without another one for a mouse, students have to use the business-card-sized track pad on the laptop — which is already “really, really worn out,” Chen said.
“People trying to program on it can’t even control the cursor properly,” said Chen, a Grade 12 student.
Another disadvantage is the battery. Since it lasts about 40 minutes, it always has to be plugged into an outlet to operate.
“At a competition, it’s more convenient to have it unplugged,” he said. “You can’t be walking around with a really long cord to your table.”
He estimates that having a new Windows laptop for as little as $3,000 would greatly help the club in competition, which will see the team playing 16 matches over two days before hopefully participating in the finals.
Grade 10 students Max Benard and Arlo Bon are part of Templeton Secondary’s robotics team, called the Vancouver Rainstorms. The pair show off the 2010 IBM Thinkpad that the team uses for competitions.
Templeton is one of 28 B.C. teams and one of three Vancouver teams competing in Victoria next month against defending champs from Auckland, New Zealand, and runners-up from Hawaii. If Templeton Robotics wins in Victoria, it would go onto the FIRST Robotics Competition championship in Houston, Texas, in April.
FIRST is an acronym for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, a non-profit organization founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway.
The team, which launched in September 2017, made it to Houston in April 2018, one of only three B.C. teams that year. Last year, the team made it to the semifinal round in Victoria but did not advance to Houston.
Teacher Warren Lloyd is the supervisor for the Templeton Robotics team, dubbed the Vancouver Rainstorms, and said the “underdog” team is in need of funding to ensure every student, regardless of background, can travel to the competition.
“I grew up with a coach — my mother who passed in 2015 — who always had room for one more,” said Lloyd, who has taught at Templeton since 2017.
“I teach in East Van where some of my students are just fine, even better, but some are not so much. Some of my students, that life is testing, are incredibly smart and I will not allow that to be wasted or challenged by a financial barrier.”
In the team’s first year, Lloyd was able to bring all 17 students to Victoria and then to Houston at the cost of $0 thanks to fundraising and sponsorships. Last year, the team grew and families were asked to contribute $100 towards the trip. Lloyd expects a similar arrangement for this year’s trip.
Grade 10 students Cat Crema and Ombu Auve are part of Templeton Secondary’s robotics team, called the Vancouver Rainstorms.
“The benefits of travelling to Victoria are exponential: responsibility, trust, independence, an international experience just a ferry ride away, growth,” said Lloyd of what’s typically been a three-day, two-night experience for the students. “There is more out there than the intersection at Hastings and Nanaimo.”
Lloyd said his first priority is ensuring the students’ trip costs are covered. He is hoping to raise $15,000 to cover accommodations, transportation, key tools, uniforms and robotic parts.
“If there is extra — and there is not — then we would look to purchase a new or rebuilt laptop,” said Lloyd, adding that his wish list item for the team is a Dell Computers Alienware gaming laptop, the most ideal machine for their purposes due to the computer’s speed and capacity.
Another robotics competition for local high school students is VEX Robotics. In 2017, a robotics team from east Vancouver’s Gladstone Secondary School competed in VEX Robotics’ championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
STEM — the fields of science, technology, engineering and math — has fast become a priority for many educators. And if you can make that fun — like building and programming a competition-ready robot — even better.
“People who can code, engineer, and repair these products will be in the highest demand,” said Lloyd. “These East Van students will shape the future, and I am very confident in their ability.”
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From left aFre students Cat Crema, Max Benard, Maxwell Inkpen, Arlo Bon, William Shen, teacher Warren Lloyd, students Ombu Auve, and Dylon Zander who are a part of Templeton Secondary’s robotics team, called the Vancouver Rainstorms.
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