ASC Robotic Society Brings Imagination to Reality

Tiffany Wood
The Paw Print

The Adams State College Grizzly Robot Society is a new club on campus dedicated to teaching and embracing robotics and the technology it involves. This group is open to ASC students and members of the community. The meetings are held every Thursday at 4 P.M. in the Science Activity Center located on the north side of the Community Partnerships Building on the southwest corner of the Adams State Campus.
Currently, the ASC Robotics Society is working on several different projects. They are developing an array of small mobile platforms capable of traveling over harsh terrain. Adams State is the organizer and host of the Colorado Robot Challenge which is set to be held in April at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. This event is open to the western United States and is sponsored by NASA with the goal being to develop a new class of space exploration robots. The purpose of the Grizzly Robot Society is to provide robotic education to Colorado while developing competitive robots for the challenge.
Since Dr. Randy Emmons was a child during the Cold War, he has held a strong interest in robotics. Since coming to ASC, he has created several robotics programs for Valley students. In 2007, Emmons only had a program for Valley students and was hoping to extend it to the college. The program helped students learn to program robots to travel through a maze. For years, Emmons has been inspiring and helping form an interest in science in schools and communities throughout the San Luis Valley. One of Emmons’ goals with the program was to give Valley students the opportunity to compete and to attract other colleges to the Valley and to develop the program statewide. Members have the opportunity to develop a robot that can travel in harsh terrain, such as different planets or even traveling into mines to check safety and sturdiness. He has stayed to see this through.
In order to join the ASC Grizzly Robot Society, there are no membership fees or formal requirements. There is no need to have prior experience with computer programming or electronics in order to participate. It truly is a group learning experience with more experienced members teaching newcomers and novices the ropes and helping each other make their ideas a reality.
For years, Emmons and his robotics program has been developing and honing it skills into what it has become today. One Saturday each month is dedicated to science and called Science Saturdays. Science Saturday is a series of structured activities where people of all ages explore science and mathematics in guided hands-on activities. The next Science Saturday is November 6.
Feel free to join the ASC Grizzly Robot Society every Thursday at 4 P.M. to learn how to bring your ideas into reality and to explore the ideas of other members. Even if your student years have passed, this is a new opportunity to learn and to get into the field of robotics and the opportunities that come with it. For more information contact Randy Emmons at rwemmons@adams.edu.

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