PHOTO BY SAIGE GRIFFIN
BY NOAH CASTAGNA
The engineering-minded tinkerers of Cooper City High have found a new home: Foundations of Robotics Honors.
Unlike other engineering courses, Foundations of Robotics provides students hands-on experience with planning and building projects ranging from complex circuits to terrestrial automatons. However, that’s not the only thing that separates it from other engineering-oriented classes; there is no defined curriculum for Robotics in Broward County, so science teacher David Schultz has been designing the Foundations of Robotics curricula for CCHS from near scratch.
“There are already other curriculums that are pretty detailed and accurate, and we’re designing one that will use several of them,” Schultz said. “It has been both challenging, and enjoyable. You have the ability to choose what topics you want to really focus on.”
Students will also have the opportunity to test out various forms of technology, such as Adafruit’s Raspberry Pi, a computer chip that can run a variety of student-designed programs, and the Arduino Board, a similar motherboard that uses sensors to detect factors in the environment and respond as programmed to. The devices are meant to ease students into much more complex topics that will have them programming actual robots to move around, pick up objects, and even participate in competitions down the line. One such competition is Vex Robotics, where students program robots to complete tasks faster and more efficiently than their opponents.
“We can create what we want to create,” senior Marc Figueroa said. “I want to get into programming in the future, so [the freedom] will help a lot.”
The class has attracted a substantial group of students with varied interests, be it computer programming or engineering.
“I’ve always been interested in engineering, so when I found out there was a Robotics class this year, I was intrigued,” junior Nico Gallardo said. “We’re all learning and working our way through it together.”
For more information on Vex Robotics or the CCHS Robotics program, visit https://www.robotevents.com/robot-competitions/vex-robotics-competition or stop by Room 147.
