UC Robotics Front and Center Court

On Nov. 20, 2013, the University of Cincinnati added to an already outstandingly

hot month for UC robotics

with UC Robotics Night at Fifth Third Arena. The event, jointly hosted by the College of Nursing and the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS), was a university-wide celebration of robotics and recognized UC’s commitment to the flourishing field of robotics.

The night was an overwhelming success, with UC President Santa J. Ono tweeting, “I had a great time at UC Robotics Day with so many awesome UC, Lakota and Colerain students at tonight's basketball game. There are so many #FutureBearcats at these schools.”

In attendance for the evening, as CEAS guests of honor, were: CEAS mechanical engineering students and initial FIRST® Robotics Scholarship recipients Adam and Anthony Ogg with their family; CEAS alumni; FIRST® Robotics Ohio senior mentor Ted Hood; the Lakota FIRST® Robotics Team, the Thunderhawks, with lead mentors Catherine Maltbie, Paul George, and Jimmy Nichols; and the Colerain FIRST® Robotics Team, The R.O.C.K, with lead mentor David Campbell.

The night’s festivities kicked off on Sigma Sigma Commons with robot demonstrations for the local FIRST® Robotics teams. The UC Robotics Club, along with their faculty advisors Dan Humpert, director of the UC Center for Robotics Research and CEAS mechanical engineering associate professor, and Paul Talaga, CEAS assistant professor educator, joined aerospace engineering students, Bryan Brown and Jeff Bennett, in wowing the crowd. The Robotics Club brought their traveling robot and a couple of quadracopters to the show while Bryan and Jeff presented their quadracopter and explained SIERRA, the ‘Surveillance for Intelligent Emergency Response Robotic Aircraft.’ 

The robotics frenzy continued inside the arena as those attending had a chance to stop and see SIERRA in person at the aerospace engineering display table in the concourse. Kelly Cohen, associate professor of aerospace engineering, and his students—Bryan, Jeff, and also, Wei Wei—captivated guests with videos of their recent SIERRA demonstration in West Virginia. Additionally, the Robotics Club showcased their traveling robot and quadracopters while prepping their t-shirt shooting cannon robot for the game.

Also in the concourse was the College of Nursing with Flobot and V-go, their telehealth robots (robots used in healthcare). Both robots were present at the UC Smart Innovation Collaboratory House open-house on Nov. 5, 2013. The UC Smart Innovation Collaboratory House is a high-tech residence developed in partnership with the UC College of Medicine’s geriatric experts and designed by the UC College of Nursing and CEAS to determine whether technology can close the primary care gap for an aging population. Several engineering students partnered with nursing students on senior capstone projects to develop and implement innovative healthcare technology for the house—the posters from which were also on display in the concourse.

After touring the displays, the guests retired to their designated suites to watch the UC Bearcats Men’s Basketball Team take on the Campbell Camels. Tip-off was at 7 p.m. and with the second timeout came a special treat: President Ono and CEAS Interim Dean Teik C. Lim escorted Adam and Anthony Ogg onto center court where they awarded them the their FIRST® Robotics Scholarships.

The University of Cincinnati’s Office of the President and CEAS recently partnered to jointly fund FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Scholarships. The initial scholarships awarded to the Ogg brothers are particularly significant given their many years as FIRST® Robotics Competition participants and the fact that they will serve as FIRST Robotics ambassadors for UC students over the current academic year.

Beginning next fall (2014), the UC President’s Office and CEAS are making 25 one-time $2,000 FIRST® Robotics Scholarships available to entering freshmen who participated in FIRST® Robotics.

The College of Nursing’s Dean Greer Glazer joined in the fun during the next timeout as she came on court and tossed mini basketballs to the fans with the help of Bearcat Cheerleaders.

The crowd went wild in the second half of the game when students from the College of Nursing brought V-go out for a spin and the Robotics Club took the court with President Ono and Interim Dean Lim to debut their phenomenal t-shirt shooting cannon robot.

Interim Dean Lim reflects, “I was proud to recognize the Ogg brothers for their well-merited achievements and our high school invitees enjoyed themselves too, especially with the announcement of the FIRST® Robotics Scholarships. The t-shirt shooting cannon robot was a huge hit—President Ono will be funding the building of the next generation t-shirt shooting cannon robot by CEAS and the Ogg brothers. Our alumni guests were all very pleased to see CEAS and Nursing prominently staged at the game. Last night couldn’t have been more successful and the event perfectly showcased the depth of collaboration here at the university.”

The Basketball Bearcat’s 81-62 victory capped a superb performance which was particularly apropos in light of the CEAS motto—WE ENGINEER BETTER™. Gear up for an even greater celebration next year.

Select for more information about the UC Smart Innovation Collaboratory House open-house.

Select for more information about SIERRA.

FIRST Robotics participants may apply for a FIRST Scholarship at

http://ceas.uc.edu/future_students/Admissions/first.html

.

For more information about the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science, please visit:

http://ceas.uc.edu/

.

For more information about the UC College of Nursing, please visit:

http://nursing.uc.edu/.html

.