In our last issue, we announced the Grant Imahara VEXplorer Robot Challenge, sponsored by Revell, Innovation First, Inc. (IFI), Solidworks Corporation and Robot magazine. The contest, which was broadly announced on robotics news websites, gave 25 robot enthusiasts a chance to compete for a $5,000 scholarship grand prize and a $2,000 second-place prize. Ten more contestants were given a chance to win $200 gift certificates redeemable at www.vexrobotics.com. Many dozens applied, and we selected 25 to build their robots.

The contest entailed using the VEXplorer kit and any additional robotics parts (up to a limit of $100) from www.vexrobotics.com to create a unique and original application, which then had to be posted as a video on YouTube by June 1. These limitations set a level playing field (minor additions such as masking tape, glue, string, paper towels, etc,. to complete the application were deemed to be within the scope of the rules). Contestants were given additional points for the use of SolidWorks software and for good videography. “Mythbuster” Grant Imahara picked the winners.

We are pleased to announce the overall winner: Gustavo Goretkin’s ChemBot took first place. Gustavo, congratulations on winning the $5,000 scholarship prize! In second place were Jared Schwartz and Tom Lundberg with their Walking Quadruped Dinosaur. Although the second prize was initially set at $2,000, Grant and the contest sponsors were so impressed by Tom and Jared’s robot that they awarded each a $2,000 scholarship.
 

We thank all who applied and all 25 contestants for the tremendous effort and fantastic creativity shown in their entries. See them all at www.vexrobotics.com. Contestants who did not make the winner’s list will be given a free one-year subscription to Robot in appreciation of their entries. Original applicants who did not make the contestant cut and those who are not listed as winners, will be sent complimentary copies of the SolidWorks Student Edition.

CHEMBOT
1ST—$5,000 SCHOLARSHIP GRAND PRIZE!

Gustavo Goretkin, a student of the Broward Virtual School, has participated in the FIRST robotics program of Dillard High School for the past three years. He has also mentored a FIRST Lego League team at Hallandale Elementary for two years. His interests lie in computer intelligence, robotics engineering and in technology, generally. Chembot can be viewed at www.youtube.com

Gustavo notes “Chembot is remotely operated and designed to conduct experiments from a safe distance from the experimenter. The onboard camera allows the robot to relay images of the materials it is manipulating and allows the researcher to observe the experiment. The robot’s arm assembly is mounted on a Cartesian coordinate system. The base moves in a single axis (both sides of the drivetrain are linked by an axle), and a linear slider system is mounted perpendicularly to the base’s axis. The shoulder, which is mounted on the sliding base, supports the rest of the components.

“A wrist was added; it provides the gripper with two additional degrees of freedom. The tilting angle of the wrist allows the gripper to always remain parallel to the horizontal plane so that materials are not spilled while moving from one vertical position to another. The rotational degree of freedom rotates about the grabbing axis, and it allows the robot to pour materials from a container.”

WALKING QUADRUPED DINOSAUR
2ND—2 $2,000 SCHOLARSHIPS!

Jared Schwartz & Tom Lundberg

Jared Schwartz will be a senior at Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School, Bloomsfield Hills, Michigan, this fall. He has been in the school robotics club since sixth grade and on the robotics team since ninth grade. Jared has participated in the FIRST FTC and FRC competitions and World Robofest. His FTC team qualified for the past two years to compete in Atlanta at the world championship. Jared has always had an interest in robotics and hopes to pursue a career involving robotics and art.
Tom Lemberg, also of Bloomfield Hills, grew up with two older brothers “... who have always pushed me into challenges and caused me to build up my abilities.” He is a sophomore at Cranbrook Kingswood. Although he has not targeted a career in robotics at this point, Tom says “Like all challenges, I appreciate the Grant Imahara VEXplorer Robot Challenge for its fun and rewards.”

“The Quadruped Dinosaur can walk around, move its head up and down and look left and right. Because it has a motor for the neck as well as the head, it is more like a real dinosaur than the biped prototype,” the two winners comment. The purpose of the robot is to look around and explore. The wheels “... were simply replaced by legs.” To see how, view the SolidWorks images at www.youtube.com.

Links

Fundamentals of SolidWorks, www.schroff.com (913) 262-2664
Innovation First (IFI), www.innovationfirst.com (903) 453-0880
Revell Monogram, www.revell.com (847) 758-3200
SolidWorks Corporation, www.solidworks.com (800) 693-9000