Over a dozen high school students from across New York learned how to program and code Petoi Robot Dogs during an Introductory Robotics Camp held at Alfred State. The free camp is part of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant focused on addressing the growing demand for skilled technicians in robotics and automation.
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Assistant Professors Jessica Hutchison and Dr. Mohamed Eleshaky developed the camp after their proposal “Developing a Robotics and Automation Technician Pathway for the Agricultural and Industrial Sectors” was funded through the NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant. Along with Assistant Professor Harshvadan Panchal, they guided students through a process of understanding how the Robot Dog was built and then how it can be coded to do a variety of operations.
“This camp was an introductory camp for high school students,” commented Eleshaky. “We wanted to introduce to them the mechatronics and the agriculture robotics and automation fields. We designed this camp to teach them how to program this Petoi Robot Dog to get them attracted to this field of study.”
Students spent over two days on campus learning, coding, experimenting, and presenting their findings to their colleagues, instructors, and families.
Zakari Vasquez (Jamaica, NY) was looking at different opportunities and found this camp and felt it was the best opportunity for learning more about robotics. “I have always been interested in engineering and specifically inventing things that have never existed or improving on existing concepts. The best part of the camp was collaborating with my peers on how to really incorporate ideas into the robot.”
The camp concluded with a showcase for families that included each group showing off the skills they programmed for their dog. The top three teams received recognition while all campers received a certificate of completion.
Eleshaky continued, “The students were fully engaged. I really didn't expect them to learn so much in this short period of time but today when they started applying these skills and programming, it was amazing.”
Students also explored robotics and automation at the college’s farm and participated in a variety of STEM activities. They stayed on campus, giving them an opportunity to experience college life firsthand.
The introductory robotic camp will return next summer but plans are underway for a more in-depth two-week Summer Institute. The institute will allow campers to earn two industry-recognized certificates, an AMTAE certificate as “Certified Industrial Robotic Programmer (CIRP)” and “NC3 Fundamentals to Mechatronics- level 1” certificate.