Boy Scouts get 'robotics' merit badge

Starting a campfire and tying a knot may be par for the course for today's Boy Scouts. But if they built robots to get these tasks done, they just might earn a new merit badge. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) introduced on Monday the new Robotics Merit Badge, which gives Scouts the chance to design, build and demonstrate a working robot. “The Robotics merit badge is an example of how Scouting remains true to its roots to help young people be prepared. While the guiding principles of Scouting — service to others, leadership, personal achievement, and respect for the outdoors — will never change, we continue to adapt programs to prepare young people for success in all areas of life," said BSA Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzuca, in a news release on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) website. According to the BSA, the Robotics merit badge is part of the BSA’s new curriculum emphasis on STEM: science, technology, engineering, and math. 'Fun, adventurous approach' to science It said the focus on STEM "takes a fun, adventurous approach to helping Scouts develop critical skills that are relevant and needed in today’s competitive world." "Scouts will spend approximately 14 hours meeting the requirements of this merit badge, including that they design a robot and demonstrate how it works. The BSA anticipates more than 10,000 Robotics merit badges will be earned in its first year," the BSA said. The BSA said the new merit badge is one of 31 STEM-related merit badges that Scouts can earn. According to the BSA, the new merit badge involved some 14 months of development and input from more than 150 youth members, leaders, and industry professionals from across the nation. Earning the Robotics merit badge requires a Scout to understand how robots move (actuators), how they sense the environment (sensors), and how they understand what to do (programming). Robots, robots everywhere The BSA said that it developed the Robotics merit badge because of the wide-reaching impact of robotics and the role STEM will continue to play in young people’s lives moving forward. "Robots are used in almost every field — in medicine and manufacturing, law enforcement and search and rescue, and space and underwater exploration. They appear regularly in daily life, be it vacuuming, mowing the lawn, and/or cleaning the pool. Even some video game controllers are considered robots," it said. Requirements for the Robotics badge The BSA gave examples of what scouts must do to earn the Robotics merit badge:

• Explain and discuss hazards and safety prevention;
• Explain how robots are used today;
• Discuss three of the five major fields of robotics (human-robot interface, mobility, manipulation, programming, sensors);
• Design, build, program, and test their robot;
• Demonstrate the robot, and share the engineering notebook for that robot;
• Attend a robotics competition or do research on robotics competitions;
• Discuss career opportunities in robotics (Must include information on the education, training, and experience required.)

The full list of the requirements from www.scouting.org includes:

• Safety: Do each of the following: - Explain to your counselor the most likely hazards you may encounter while working with robots and what you should do to anticipate, mitigate and prevent, and respond to these hazards. Describe the appropriate safety gear and clothing that should be used when working with robotics. - Discuss first aid and prevention for the types of injuries that could occur while participating in robotics activities and competitions, including cuts, eye injuries, and burns (chemical or heat).
• Robotics industry: Discuss the following with your counselor: - The kinds of things robots can do and how robots are best used today. - The similarities and differences between remote-control vehicles, telerobots, and autonomous robots. - Three different methods robots can use to move themselves other than wheels or tracks. Describe when it would be appropriate to use each method.
• General knowledge. Discuss with your counselor three of the five major fields of robotics (human-robot interface, mobility, manipulation, programming, sensors) and their importance to robotics development. Discuss either the three fields as they relate to a single robot system OR talk about each field in general. Find pictures or at least one video to aid your discussion.
• Design, build, program, test. Do each of the following: - With your counselor’s approval, choose a task for the robot or robotic subsystem that you plan to build. Include sensor feedback and programming in the task. Document this information in your robot engineering notebook. - Design your robot. The robot design should use sensors and programming and have at least 2 degrees of freedom. Document the design in your robot engineering notebook using drawings and a written description. - Build a robot or robotic subsystem of your original design to accomplish the task you chose for requirement 4a. - Discuss with your counselor the programming options available for your robot. Then do either option 1 OR option 2. Option 1. Program your robot to perform the task you chose for your robot in 4a. Include a sample of your program’s source code in your robot engineering notebook. Option 2. Prepare a flowchart of the desired steps to program your robot for accomplishing the task in 4a. Include procedures that show activities based on sensor inputs. Place this in your robot engineering notebook. - Test your robot and record the results in your robot engineering notebook. Include suggestions on how you could improve your robot, as well as pictures or sketches of your finished robot.
• Demonstrate. Do the following: - Demonstrate for your counselor the robot you built in requirement 4. - Share your robot engineering notebook with your counselor. Talk about how well your robot accomplished the task, the improvements you would make in your next design, and what you learned about the design process.
• Competitions. Do ONE of the following. - Attend a robotics competition and report to your counselor what you saw and learned about the competition and how teams are organized and managed. - Learn about three youth robotics competitions. Tell your counselor about these, including the type of competition, time commitment, age of the participants, and how many teams are involved.
• Careers. Name three career opportunities in robotics. Pick one and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss this with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you.

The BSA said Robotics is one of more than 120 merit badges that are education- or hobby-based. There are 31 STEM-related merit badges that Boy Scouts can earn, and 26 of the pins and belt loops in the Cub Scout program are related to STEM. "The Robotics merit badge will be the first merit badge in the BSA interactive merit badge resource center at www.boyslife.org/robotics," the BSA said. Organizations that assisted in the creation and launch of the Robotics merit badge include:

• AUVSI Foundation
• Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy
• Carnegie Science Center, Roboworld
• iRobot Corporation
• LEGO Education North America
• Museum of Science, Boston
• NASA
• National Electronics Museum
• National Robotics Week
• Robotics Education and Competition Foundation
• University of Texas-Dallas, Science and Engineering Education Center
• VEX Robotics, Inc.

— TJD, GMA News