SSC Pacific engineers participated in the Oahu In STEP (Science and Technology Education Partnership) Science Show and Exposition and had the opportunity to meet with Hawaii's Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona.
During the August event, SSC Pacific was one of the exhibitors encouraging the estimated 2,600 fourth, sixth, and eighth graders from the local Farrington Complex school district to consider Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers. "Plasma, the Fourth State of Matter" was the focus technology of the show, and our representatives demonstrated SSC Pacific's diversity of projects and provided hands-on interactive demos on math and science.
Showing posts with label educational outreach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label educational outreach. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Cornell University defends title at 13th Annual Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition
SAN DIEGO, July 2010 — Cornell University defended its title as champion at this year’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition.
The competition brought together 22 teams from five countries for the 13th annual event. SPAWAR Systems Center (SSC) Pacific has hosted the competition, which is sponsored by the AUVSI Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and several corporate sponsors, at the Transducer Evaluation Center (TRANSDEC) Pool for the past nine years.
Students had to build and program their own autonomous underwater vehicles that would complete a course of various obstacles including recognizing colors and reacting to sounds. The theme this year was Underwater the 13th – a horror film theme.
Dave Novick, technical director for the competition, said the pool was “Camp TRANSDEC,” with various summer camp-themed obstacles. First, the robots had to get a life jacket (recognize the colored buoys), jump the hedges (move over piping suspended in the water), select tools for weapons (identify shapes), fire a crossbow through the window (launch a torpedo), and finally save the counselor by pulling him out of a cabin (in this case, surface).
“Releasing is new this year,” Novick said. “They have to release the counselor before surfacing.”
He said most of the obstacles rely on visual cues because cameras are cheap and easy to use. But he said he hopes to incorporate a wider variety of challenges in future years.
Also new this year was the SAE International Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS) Interoperability Challenge that accounted for about 15 percent of the total possible points. Teams have had the opportunity to attempt the JAUS Challenge in the past, but it was not an official part of the competition.
The requirement was a late addition to this year’s event, but 11 teams gave it a try. About half of them got a perfect score.
“So much of what they do is on the research and science side,” said Ralph “Woody” English, president of SAE AS-4, a group that publishes documents on JAUS. “We think it challenges them to think about things they will do on the job side.”
The event is open to the public during the qualifying rounds and finals each year.
Steve Koepenick, Deputy of Program Development for SSC Pacific's ISR/IO Competency, Autonomous Systems Division, said the competition is a great opportunity for community outreach.
“When we first did this nine years ago it was obvious to me we could do outreach,” he said. “We can show off our facility, capability and what we do for the community.”
“Plus, the competition helps foster young, bright minds,” he said.
In the past, the Center has hired some of the students who participate in the competition. Just by preparing for the competition, they show that they can work across disciplines, defend their work and apply concepts to real-world applications.
“We hire the best and brightest,” Koepenick said. “(These students would) know what to do when they get here.”
Final results for the competition were as follows:
1st Place - Cornell University
2nd Place - U.S. Naval Academy
3rd Place - University of Maryland
4th Place - Team SONIA -École de Technologie Supérieure
5th Place - Amador Valley High School
6th Place - University of Texas at Dallas
7th Place - Kyushu Institute of Technology
Best Run of Teams Not in Finals: University of Central Florida
Never Give Up Award: Iceland
Best Presentation: San Diego City Robotics
SSC Pacific is recognized worldwide as a leader in command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in support of the Nation's warfighters.
Serving as host of the AUVSI competition for the last nine years is just one example of the command's commitment to young people who want to learn more about the practical application of science and engineering. In 2009, the command was awarded the Maritime Alliance Educational Outreach Award for its educational outreach efforts.
The competition brought together 22 teams from five countries for the 13th annual event. SPAWAR Systems Center (SSC) Pacific has hosted the competition, which is sponsored by the AUVSI Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and several corporate sponsors, at the Transducer Evaluation Center (TRANSDEC) Pool for the past nine years.
Students had to build and program their own autonomous underwater vehicles that would complete a course of various obstacles including recognizing colors and reacting to sounds. The theme this year was Underwater the 13th – a horror film theme.
Dave Novick, technical director for the competition, said the pool was “Camp TRANSDEC,” with various summer camp-themed obstacles. First, the robots had to get a life jacket (recognize the colored buoys), jump the hedges (move over piping suspended in the water), select tools for weapons (identify shapes), fire a crossbow through the window (launch a torpedo), and finally save the counselor by pulling him out of a cabin (in this case, surface).
“Releasing is new this year,” Novick said. “They have to release the counselor before surfacing.”
He said most of the obstacles rely on visual cues because cameras are cheap and easy to use. But he said he hopes to incorporate a wider variety of challenges in future years.
Also new this year was the SAE International Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS) Interoperability Challenge that accounted for about 15 percent of the total possible points. Teams have had the opportunity to attempt the JAUS Challenge in the past, but it was not an official part of the competition.
The requirement was a late addition to this year’s event, but 11 teams gave it a try. About half of them got a perfect score.
“So much of what they do is on the research and science side,” said Ralph “Woody” English, president of SAE AS-4, a group that publishes documents on JAUS. “We think it challenges them to think about things they will do on the job side.”
The event is open to the public during the qualifying rounds and finals each year.
Steve Koepenick, Deputy of Program Development for SSC Pacific's ISR/IO Competency, Autonomous Systems Division, said the competition is a great opportunity for community outreach.
“When we first did this nine years ago it was obvious to me we could do outreach,” he said. “We can show off our facility, capability and what we do for the community.”
“Plus, the competition helps foster young, bright minds,” he said.
In the past, the Center has hired some of the students who participate in the competition. Just by preparing for the competition, they show that they can work across disciplines, defend their work and apply concepts to real-world applications.
“We hire the best and brightest,” Koepenick said. “(These students would) know what to do when they get here.”
Final results for the competition were as follows:
1st Place - Cornell University
2nd Place - U.S. Naval Academy
3rd Place - University of Maryland
4th Place - Team SONIA -École de Technologie Supérieure
5th Place - Amador Valley High School
6th Place - University of Texas at Dallas
7th Place - Kyushu Institute of Technology
Best Run of Teams Not in Finals: University of Central Florida
Never Give Up Award: Iceland
Best Presentation: San Diego City Robotics
SSC Pacific is recognized worldwide as a leader in command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in support of the Nation's warfighters.
Serving as host of the AUVSI competition for the last nine years is just one example of the command's commitment to young people who want to learn more about the practical application of science and engineering. In 2009, the command was awarded the Maritime Alliance Educational Outreach Award for its educational outreach efforts.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Welcome AUVSI Competition 2010
We're hosting more than 200 students from 26 schools worldwide this weekend for the 13th International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition. We'll be posting live updates on Facebook and on our Twitter page starting Friday morning.
Come out and watch these students compete for the title of "Best RoboSub" and cash prizes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday-Sunday at our TRANSDEC Pool. Follow the signs on Catalina Blvd. heading toward the Cabrillo Monument. Hope to see you there!
Come out and watch these students compete for the title of "Best RoboSub" and cash prizes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday-Sunday at our TRANSDEC Pool. Follow the signs on Catalina Blvd. heading toward the Cabrillo Monument. Hope to see you there!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Mentoring, Robotics, and Fun
For 12 weeks, our engineers in Hawaii have been mentoring at-risk kids from the Hawaii National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy in robotics and technology, culminating in a competition on May 23, 2010. Held at the Hawaii National Guard's Kalaeloa facilities, the kids showcased their VEX robot system designs, programming skills, and dexterity in competitions testing their robots in autonomous and manually controlled modes.
Watch the competition in this video produced by one of our engineering student aides.
This event was sponsored in part by the National Defense Education Program (NDEP), which promotes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to K-12 students.
Watch the competition in this video produced by one of our engineering student aides.
This event was sponsored in part by the National Defense Education Program (NDEP), which promotes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to K-12 students.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Road to the FIRST Championships
The fourth annual San Diego Regional FIRST Robotics Competition was held March 4-6, 2010 at the San Diego Sport Arena. Teams from San Diego, Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, and Pennsylvania competed in this event, totaling 49 teams and over 1,000 participants, students, mentors, and coaches.
This year's event focused on the challenge known as "Breakaway." Watch the FIRST game designers explain the complexities of Breakaway.
The three days of competition were intense and exciting for the participating students and adults as they teamed to outscore their opponent. Points are earned when a robot shoots a ball into a goal, when it climbs onto the alliance platform, and when it lifts itself off the playing surface using the alliance tower.
SSC Pacific, through the National Defense Education Program (NDEP), sponsors several FIRST Lego League and FIRST Robotics teams. Additionally, many of the personnel from our organization help by serving as judges, coaches, assistant coaches, and mentors at Qualifying and Regional Tournaments.
This year, the FIRST Championship will be held April 15-17 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The event is free to the public.
For more information on FIRST Robotics, visit: http://www.usfirst.org/
This year's event focused on the challenge known as "Breakaway." Watch the FIRST game designers explain the complexities of Breakaway.
The three days of competition were intense and exciting for the participating students and adults as they teamed to outscore their opponent. Points are earned when a robot shoots a ball into a goal, when it climbs onto the alliance platform, and when it lifts itself off the playing surface using the alliance tower.
SSC Pacific, through the National Defense Education Program (NDEP), sponsors several FIRST Lego League and FIRST Robotics teams. Additionally, many of the personnel from our organization help by serving as judges, coaches, assistant coaches, and mentors at Qualifying and Regional Tournaments.
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| The Breakaway Battlefield |
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| Robotic Repair |
This year, the FIRST Championship will be held April 15-17 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The event is free to the public.
For more information on FIRST Robotics, visit: http://www.usfirst.org/
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
SSC Pacific at the High Tech Fair
On March 9 and 10, 2010, SSC Pacific participated in the High Tech Fair, held in Wyland Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, San Diego. More than 3,000 students in grades 7-12 attended this event where they interacted with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) demonstrations.
SSC Pacific hosted booths showcasing robotics, physics, and computer science, and personnel from our robotics group assisted students with the remote operation of two small robotic vehicles. Students also had an opportunity to engage in Center developed chat software that instantly translated text messages into a variety of languages. SSC Pacific educational outreach volunteers demonstrated acoustic and mechanical resonance using chladni plates, a bowl that spouts water, and singing wine glasses.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Showcasing Science in Hawaii
On February 6, 2010, employees from SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific, Code H, the Pacific C4ISR Department, led a science show at the 1st annual Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex Area Science Fair. The Science Fair determined which intermediate school science projects would represent the region in the Hawaii State Science Fair in April while the supplemental science shows were a way to encourage the students to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Code H's Gregory Lum, Jayson Nakakura, and Neal Miyake teamed with Envisioneering Inc. and the National Defense Education Program (NDEP) to put on two 45-minute productions for 250 appreciative students, families, friends, and educators. Greg and Jayson showcased the effects of linear and angular momentum, wowed the audience with both an experimental robot and an operational robot, and demonstrated laser theory and optical transmission. The intent was to demonstrate the relevance of science and mathematics by showing how theories can apply in the real world.
Hawaii's Governor Linda Lingle was in attendance, providing additional words of encouragement to the students and assisting with the awards presentation. She spoke of the need for more scientists and engineers for our nation, cabling between islands to support energy and communication transmission, and the need for underwater robotics to identify bathymetry and possible unexploded munitions.
For Oahu, this was the first time a science fair included technical shows (the island of Kauai has adopted this format for six years, with Code H participating the last two years). If the enthusiasm and excitement of both kids and administrators are any indication of the success, Code H looks forward to expanding this educational outreach initiative to an even larger audience.
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