TDT members enjoying a video of a Middleton Madness match

Team Duct Tape members enjoyed an evening with IEEE-RAS (Robotics and Automation Society) members last night, including Explaining robot componentsthe surprise gift from IEEE member, Sean Denny, of a beautifully mastered video of a couple of

Explaining robot components

 their matches at the  Middleton Madness qualifying tournament in December.  Then students gave a short presentation on this year’s Get Over It! game, their design process and engineering solutions for the game.

IEEE-RAS chair George Schott tried his hand at driving the TDT bot, and IEEE members took the time to ask good questions about FIRST, TDTs robot and the game.  It was a great opportunity to showcase what students have learned during the season, and to reach out to IEEE members to encourage mentoring to other teams, and to share a call for volunteers for the upcoming Florida FTC State Championship at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach in February.  

IEEE-RAS president George Schott tries his hand at robot driving

After their presentation, TDT members were treated to a great short history of LEGO Mindstorms by IEEE-RAS member, and FTC mentor Jim Melton.  He’ll be giving a longer presentation at the March IEEE-RAS meeting and we’re looking forward to learning more.  He has a great collection of Mindstorm’s products through the last decade, including an RCX and Microscout.

IEEE-RAS member Jim Melton showing a Mindstorms sensor