Students gear up for RoboRAVE

Students gear up for RoboRave Staff reports tvestal@ruidosonews.com Posted: 04/26/2012 08:01:17 PM MDT Gearing up for a competition that pits robot against robot, some local students are tweaking their designs, programs and 'bots to see which robot can deliver the largest payload in three minutes. Veteran coach and third-grade teacher from Capitan Elementary School, Betsy Peralta, is coaching eight teams for the RoboRAVE International to be held next month in Albuquerque. Peralta's daughter, Ashley Ivins, is coaching five teams. Ivins' students are from Carrizozo, Capitan and Mescalero. And new coach Stacie Belcher will take two teams from the elementary and middle schools in Ruidoso. Robotics has been called the leading integrator of science, technology, engineering and math in education today. Russ Fisher-Ives, the director of the 11-year-old New Mexico-grown competition agrees. "When these kids are analyzing torque versus speed, or comparing rates in fractions of a meter per second, they're applying math and science to something they've built," Fisher-Ives said. "And they're learning to think like engineers as they design, test and re-design their robots." The robots are autonomous so the students also learn the 21st century language of programming. But for students, the experience may be less about learning and more about fun. The competition will take place on May 5, or as some call it, Cinco De 'Bot-o. The event will draw more than 1,100 students from 27 of New Mexico's 33 counties, as well as from Colorado, Mexico and Colombia. The skills that students learn preparing for the competition are highly valued. A January 2012 WANTED Analytics report noted that hiring demand for robotics skills grew 44 percent over the year before, outpacing the supply. Another report in November by Metra Martech indicated the robotics industry will create over one million jobs during the next five years. RoboRAVE International will take place at the Albuquerque Convention Center. Inquiry Facilitators created the program. The non-profit company has a mission to enhance STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education through academic competition, teacher professional development, and support of student research.