Exposure at an early age is the key to success.
STEM Volunteering
I am blessed with the opportunity to do in life that which I love. Through the path of becoming an engineer, I have grown to learn the importance of giving back and paying it forward. Looking back at my youth and what I have achieved, I believe lack of opportunity is likely the no. 1 deterrent to achievement of a professional career. This lack of opportunity oftentimes comes in the form of ignorance, or lack of knowledge of available spaces and careers, and by default, the existing steps necessary to get there. It is a nurture problem, rather than a nature one.
In order to combat this, we must create visibility and transparency in our actions as professionals by providing access to knowledge through exposure. I believe this exposure is key in influencing the next generation who will undoubtably need a base level of technical knowledge in order to navigate and control an ever more technological world. With intelligent technologies making their way into our main stream life, I believe control of humanity's future by that of generations to come rest on our shoulders today.
This is why I enjoy being a part of FIRST Robotics.
Every year, I volunteer for FIRST Robotics High School level Competition as a Judge and/or Robot Inspector. With somewhere around 40+ teams, there is a tremendous amount of energy and a wonderful experience to be had.
Judging
As a Judge there is tremendous excitement as it surrounds having a deep collaboration of seasoned professionals from many technical fields, in an extremely short amount of time, to come up with team selection in a successful manner. In the span of 2 full days, not counting introductions, you go from blank pages on a wall, to single teams chosen for specific awards. It is an accelerating, high-pressure activity, where communication and the ability to influence others while coming to agreement is most important. But the best part is that one gets to interact with these wonderful kids who come together creatively to solve rather difficult challenges, and we serve as ambassadors for our profession as we direct our attention to their work.
Teams from around the world sharing the Spirit of FIRST. Go Turkey.
Robot Inspection
Robot inspector is a more technical role requiring a certification. One must pass a ~1 hour exam. Must be able to make about educated choices out of a 150 pg technical document, detailing the design and inspection requirements of the robot. The document itself is dense but serves as a kind of Product Requirements Document for teams. For robot inspectors, it is the basis of inspection with an eye on safety towards the competition. Inspections can get a bit intense on how we go about looking for the details that may put other robots or people in danger.
The following is a list I used during our 2023 Silicon Valley Competition. These Robots can be highly complex systems, many of which use Machine Learning Vision Systems and sensors to compete autonomously. Therefore Safety is paramount.
Notice how I reference sections (ie. R809) in order to provide a fast connection to the technical document. This is key to quickly understand the details in such a fast paced environment, without having to record the entire 150 page document in our heads.
It was Einstein who said...“Intelligence is not the ability to store information, but to know where to find it.”
And it is another friend of mine who loves to say, " knowing is half the battle"
The two are heavily connected and showcases the need to provide exposure to our youth when it comes to STEM.
This is how we efficiently and effectively go about inspecting robots during the competition. Joining FIRST as a volunteer is one of the many ways we can expose our youth to the wonderful world of engineering and sciences.
