(description from Dan Ward)
This shot is from the RoboEducators Teachers Workshop held last month at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana in Kokomo. Many different competitions and the robots that compete in them were showcased at the workshop. This is all a part of a National Science Foundation grant to form robotics training centers around the country.
The robotics training centers will consist of 1) an established or embryonic group of Robotics Educators who are tied to each other through listservs or regular meetings, 2) a higher education facility to provide expertise in CAD, engineering, design, electronics, pneumatics, programming and mechanics, and 3) a regular robotics competition, e.g., BBIQ, FIRST, BEST, Botball, Vex. The higher education facilities are primarily community colleges but also include Carnegie Mellon University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Through the centers we will distribute the robotics curriculum to teachers interested in using it in science, math or technology classrooms. The center will also offer training through the higher education institution and a venue for teacher training and robotics competitions. They will also be points of contact for our partners, Autodesk, SMC Pneumatics, RadioShack, Innovation FIRST, Intelitek, and others. The centers will offer expert training in programming, pneumatics, PLC's, robotics platforms, CAD, and design through the partners or the professional educators at the higher education institutions.
CCW from the left. Two SUMOs, GEARS system, Vex, Lego Mindstorm, BEST (RoboDevils from Indianapolis), and FIRST robot (TechnoKats).
"If all else fails, use a bigger hammer" - Steve Florence - Logan Byers [more] 
