BC3 showcases robotics program
BUTLER TWP — Bad weather rained out their beta testing earlier this week, but the 10 students in Butler County Community College's Robotics Technology program finally got to try out their self-navigating vehicles Thursday afternoon.
About 40 people gathered in the field across from the Science and Technology Building to watch several remote control car-sized vehicles travel to preprogrammed GPS coordinates. Some traveled directly to their destinations; some still need a few bugs worked out.
The exhibition, which coincided with National Robotics Week, was a celebration of the first class set to graduate from the two-year program.
Denton Dailey, associate professor of science and technology, said his students have literally logged thousands of hours on dozens of projects. He said because much of that time was outside the classroom, it was a testament to their passion.
Matt Kovac, interim dean of science and technology, seconded their dedication.
“We have schedules on the board (for labs), but that's irrelevant to this group. ... There's almost always someone in there.”
Dailey said Carnegie Mellon and California (Pa.) universities talked with BC3 two years ago to see if the school would develop a two-year robotics program.
He said CMU provided curriculum and some of the funding, and then he and three students worked to develop lab projects and coursework.
According to a news release, the effort was done through the Robotics Corridor Project, a public-private consortium of more than 20 industry partners.
After the field demonstration, the students and spectators returned to the AK Steel Lobby, where they could learn more about the sensors, receivers and processors that make the robots work.
Denton said the program is designed so students can transfer credits to a four-year school if they want to further pursue robotics, which is a relevant field in many industries.Ben Clark, 20, of Boyers, who is set to finish the program, plans to do just that. “It's something I've been into for years,” he said. “I like building things that actually run themselves.”Steve Bandi, 19, of Penn Township is finishing his first year in the class. He got interested in robotics while studying computer-aided drafting at Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School and through participation in a U.S. FIRST robotics competition.“I liked the idea. I liked learning what was going on inside all the (computer) chips,” he said, adding he would like to pursue a robotics career in the manufacturing or mining industries.John Watson, 22, of Mars is set to finish the associate degree program, but he said he will return in the fall to earn more credits before transferring to a four-year school.“It's kind of a childhood dream to work with robots,” he said.He said his favorite part of the class was the labs because he could apply all the theory learned in class.“You blow something up once, you learn from it,” he said.
