Hyde Phoenix Robotix team launches first robot

BATH — "It's time consuming, frustrating and a novice team does not try to do it all, but our roll-out will kick butt!" said Paul Xi leader of one of the four sub groups that form the new robotics team at Hyde, according to a news release.

The group's 16 members along with advisor math faculty member Matthew Weymar are working to produce a mechanism that will compete against other Northern New England teams in a test of not only individual skills but also team work on every level. To compete the team must connect a long list of mechanical, pneumatic and electronic components to create a machine capable of performing simple tasks. The team worked overtime to get the device ready for their first big competition on February 26 in Nashua, NH.

"How do you build a robot?" is the question the team has been working to answer for several months. Robotics, a branch of engineering, combines knowledge of industrial design, manufacturing, electronics, computer science, mechanics and imagination. .

Designing the robot fell mostly to Xi who began by organizing curriculum and teaching other members the CAD software that was used to produce a working three dimensional blueprint. Learning to use the CAD program allowed these novices to exactly place the hundreds of components that make up the mechanism. As Bill Li noted in the news release, "The most important, I really practice my creativity. I have to think what kind of design is the most useful."

Evan Davis along with other members of the build team took the blueprints of the yet to be named robot and began the construction process. The team combined an array of parts which include a planetary gear box, processor chip, motherboard, a sturdy frame, casters, wiring, pneumatic lift, pneumatic tubing and many small fasteners and wires. Although the process is complicated, Xi points out the robot was designed and manufactured to have the least amount of moving parts.

Along with building the robot comes the task of making it work. Programming the robot fell to the coding team. Using JAVA the team input the code needed to operate the many commands that will make the bot function. The coding team led by Robin Lu, wrote the many lines of code that will give a "brain" to the mechanism.

Part of the outreach team's work was raising some needed funds with a Valentine's Day message and gift service which was organized by team members Brendan Lutes and Susa Breese. The logo for the team, which can be seen on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/frcteam5633, was designed by Breese.

The team received two grants, one from the Robotics Institute of Maine for $6000, their web site at http://www.robotsinme.org/ and from FIRST, the organizers of FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), for $4000 this year and $2000 next year. The grants were used to purchase components and tools for the build. Also the team was awarded an EKOCYCLE Cube 3D printer, sponsored by 3D Systems and Coca-Cola:http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ekocycle-cube-3d-printer-program this is a $1500 device that can print plastic components from CAD designs

The group will travel on Thursday for Nashua NH to try their creation along with a score of other teams from northern New England. Team members are Chris Lutts, Brett Van Vort, Brenden Lutes, Max Zerrudo-Turgeon, James Scharpf, Frederick Zaegel, Chris Zou, Bernard He, Bill Li, George Zhang, David Lu, Paul Xi, Josh Fox, Robin Lu, Daniel Morgenstern, Sky Zhao, Susa Breese, Shawn Shao, Max Winsten and Evan Davis.

UMaine Extension Celebrates Fermented Foods 

FALMOUTH — University of Maine Cooperative Extension presents "Weird Maine Fermentables" in the Saturday, March 21 installment of the yearlong "From Scratch: Your Maine Kitchen" series. UMaine Extension educator Kathy Savoie and guest instructors will discuss fermented foods, including kefir, kombucha, tempeh and maple-sweetened goat milk yogurt, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the UMaine Extension Cumberland County office, 75 Clearwater Drive, Falmouth.

They'll also talk about equipment and the safety of fermentation and demonstrate the process. Fermented foods have undergone a process in which natural bacteria feed on sugar and starch in the food and create lactic acid, which preserves the food. A variety of fermented products from Thirty Acres Farm in Whitefield, Lalibela Farm in Bowdoinham and Urban Farm Fermentory in Portland will be available to sample.

Cost is $40; proceeds benefit the UMaine Extension Food and Nutrition Program in Cumberland County. Register online at umaine.edu/cumberland/programs/from-scratch-your-maine-kitchen. For more details, or to request a disability accommodation, contact 207.781.6099, 1.800.287.1471 (in Maine), extension.rlreception@maine.edu.

Other scheduled workshops in the series include "Maine Cheese Pairings" on April 18, "Foraging Maine Greens" on May 16 and "Drinking the Maine Harvest" on October 17.