Chicago Tribune - 3D design workshop Dec, 2104
With the increasing availability of 3D printers, it is easier than ever to turn what you imagine into actual objects. The workshop will focus on the design of a FIRST competition robot, provide hands-on experience and teach students the basics of 3D design software.
Co-hosted by LaGrange's Cyborg Eagles Robotics Team and taught by experts from the Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC) from the Boston area, this interactive lesson will provide an opportunity to learn a new, cutting edge technology.
GEMS is a community of girls pursuing an interest in science and engineering and exploring the many facets of the field. The club plans to visit science and engineering exhibits, speak with women in these careers, collaborate with local junior highs to get girls excited about science, and much more.
Cyborg Eagles is a LaGrange-based robotics team competing in the FIRST FTC competitions where they gain real life experiences applying principles of science, technology, engineering and math as they design and build competitive robots. To learn more about the Cyborg Eagles and FIRST, visit their website athttp://cyborgeagles.weebly.com
To learn more about Parametric Technology Corporation's academic programs and their relationship to FIRST robotics, visit their website: http://www.ptc.com/go/first
Copyright © 2014, Chicago Tribune
Inside La Grange Magazine published March, 2014
The Inside La Grange magazine ran a multi page story on Cyborg Eagles. The editor Alex Keown even mentions robotics as something he hopes is in his son's future. This is a glossy magazine and the articles look great.
The magazine gets circulated to the La Grange area which has a circulation of about 30,000.
The magazine gets circulated to the La Grange area which has a circulation of about 30,000.
To view the article, click the rectangular icon on the lower far right of the picture above. This will open the document for a full screen review of the Inside La Grange article.
Mysuburbanlife.com published February 12, 2014
This article was published on-line and in the circulated paper publication, where they were proudly displayed on the cover of the newspaper.
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2014/02/10/la-grange-robotics-club-the-cyborg-eagles-creating-tomorrows-engineers/avg2w0q/?page=1
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2014/02/10/la-grange-robotics-club-the-cyborg-eagles-creating-tomorrows-engineers/avg2w0q/?page=1
La Grange robotics club, the Cyborg Eagles, creating tomorrow's engineers
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014 11:54 a.m. CST
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014 11:54 a.m. CST
By JUDITH RUIZ–BRANCH - [email protected]
LA GRANGE – Sure, they might build mini versions of the stuff in tech movies such as “Transformers,” but it’s not all fun and games for La Grange’s first robotics team. The team of four that call themselves the Cyborg Eagles pack a mighty punch.
Jonah Reardon, 14; Nate Wolcott, 14; Nate Reardon, 15; and Jack Ducham, 15 – all from La Grange – make up one of the smallest rookie teams under the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology program. Together, the young tinkerers have conceptualized and created a robot entirely from scratch and entirely by chance.
“I’ve always wanted to make a robot because I thought it would be cool,” Jonah said. His brother and father, who are both involved in the team, planted that “cool bug” in Jonah’s brain at a young age.
Wearing an appropriate R2D2 t-shirt, Xavier Ntamere (from left), 9, of Oak Park,
operates the controls to drop a cube into a box, under the coaching of Noah Reardon, 15;
Thomas Maloney, 15; and Nate Wolcott, 14; all of La Grange. The Cyborg Eagles
robotics club demonstrate their work to patrons at the Oak Park Public Library main
branch on Friday.
photo by Bill Ackerman - [email protected]
LA GRANGE – Sure, they might build mini versions of the stuff in tech movies such as “Transformers,” but it’s not all fun and games for La Grange’s first robotics team. The team of four that call themselves the Cyborg Eagles pack a mighty punch.
Jonah Reardon, 14; Nate Wolcott, 14; Nate Reardon, 15; and Jack Ducham, 15 – all from La Grange – make up one of the smallest rookie teams under the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology program. Together, the young tinkerers have conceptualized and created a robot entirely from scratch and entirely by chance.
“I’ve always wanted to make a robot because I thought it would be cool,” Jonah said. His brother and father, who are both involved in the team, planted that “cool bug” in Jonah’s brain at a young age.
Wearing an appropriate R2D2 t-shirt, Xavier Ntamere (from left), 9, of Oak Park,
operates the controls to drop a cube into a box, under the coaching of Noah Reardon, 15;
Thomas Maloney, 15; and Nate Wolcott, 14; all of La Grange. The Cyborg Eagles
robotics club demonstrate their work to patrons at the Oak Park Public Library main
branch on Friday.
photo by Bill Ackerman - [email protected]
“My older brother got into robotics ... so I wanted to join him, too, because I thought it was cool,” Jonah said.
The Cyborg Eagles didn’t start out as a quest to fulfill a robotics passion though. In fact, it was much more simple; a family affair spearheaded by the Reardon family.
“I’ve got some genetic involvement with a good portion of the team at this point,” said John Reardon, the team’s coach, and father of Noah and Jonah.
After about a month of making hour-long trips back and forth to the Technical Center of DuPage with his kids and their friends for fun, a counselor and now mentor to the team, suggested John start a robotics team.
“We were kind of pushed into it,” John said.
Soon after, the Reardon household quickly became the meeting site for all things robotics. The family interest spurred the launch of team. The Cyborg Eagles started as a FIRST Lego League team and advanced to the next level, a FIRST Tech Challenge team after only a year.
“When we started building the robot, parts would go to different families to work on,” John said. “It became kind of like a family activity, which is one of the things I enjoy most about it.”
A retired engineer, John now spends his time instilling his wisdom and knowledge into his children and their friends, time he thinks is well spent, but also crucial to the Cyborg Eagles.
“Everything in life is about project management,” John said. “You have to develop a strategy and then you have to figure out how to execute it, the finances of it ... Quite honestly, it’s is a ton of work.
“It has been a challenge,” John said. “As a rookie team, you have to create a business plan, look at the personalities involved, figure out who wants to do what, define the jobs and assign them to different people. Everyone has to have a role in your little company, and then you all work toward a goal, that being the competition.”
So far, the Cyborg Eagles have won the Engineering Award and the Aspire Award in FIRST competitions. They will compete at the FIRST state competition Feb. 22 in Chicago. The team’s charisma, spirit, enthusiasm and unique sense of style have helped the rookie team advance quickly in a short amount of time.
“That was a very big surprise to us,” John said. “That was a result of the judging, they were impressed by the kids.”
And the team made sure they paid close attention to detail when it came to impressing the judges.
“We wanted a way to stand out from the crowd,” Nate Wolcott said. “They think of us as the hat people now, [because] we’re the only ones that wear hats. It makes us easy to spot.”
The Cyborg Eagles hope to move up to the last level to become a FIRST Robotics Competition team. They hope placing in the state competition will give them enough exposure to gain corporate sponsorship to be able to get to the next level.
But no matter what happens, the experience is helping to shape and mold the team into the future problem solvers of tomorrow, a process that he as a father takes pride in being apart of.
“It’s really a people story, the robots are secondary.”
More information about the team and how to get involved can be found at the Cyborg Eagle’s website at www.cyborgeagles.weebly.com.
The Cyborg Eagles didn’t start out as a quest to fulfill a robotics passion though. In fact, it was much more simple; a family affair spearheaded by the Reardon family.
“I’ve got some genetic involvement with a good portion of the team at this point,” said John Reardon, the team’s coach, and father of Noah and Jonah.
After about a month of making hour-long trips back and forth to the Technical Center of DuPage with his kids and their friends for fun, a counselor and now mentor to the team, suggested John start a robotics team.
“We were kind of pushed into it,” John said.
Soon after, the Reardon household quickly became the meeting site for all things robotics. The family interest spurred the launch of team. The Cyborg Eagles started as a FIRST Lego League team and advanced to the next level, a FIRST Tech Challenge team after only a year.
“When we started building the robot, parts would go to different families to work on,” John said. “It became kind of like a family activity, which is one of the things I enjoy most about it.”
A retired engineer, John now spends his time instilling his wisdom and knowledge into his children and their friends, time he thinks is well spent, but also crucial to the Cyborg Eagles.
“Everything in life is about project management,” John said. “You have to develop a strategy and then you have to figure out how to execute it, the finances of it ... Quite honestly, it’s is a ton of work.
“It has been a challenge,” John said. “As a rookie team, you have to create a business plan, look at the personalities involved, figure out who wants to do what, define the jobs and assign them to different people. Everyone has to have a role in your little company, and then you all work toward a goal, that being the competition.”
So far, the Cyborg Eagles have won the Engineering Award and the Aspire Award in FIRST competitions. They will compete at the FIRST state competition Feb. 22 in Chicago. The team’s charisma, spirit, enthusiasm and unique sense of style have helped the rookie team advance quickly in a short amount of time.
“That was a very big surprise to us,” John said. “That was a result of the judging, they were impressed by the kids.”
And the team made sure they paid close attention to detail when it came to impressing the judges.
“We wanted a way to stand out from the crowd,” Nate Wolcott said. “They think of us as the hat people now, [because] we’re the only ones that wear hats. It makes us easy to spot.”
The Cyborg Eagles hope to move up to the last level to become a FIRST Robotics Competition team. They hope placing in the state competition will give them enough exposure to gain corporate sponsorship to be able to get to the next level.
But no matter what happens, the experience is helping to shape and mold the team into the future problem solvers of tomorrow, a process that he as a father takes pride in being apart of.
“It’s really a people story, the robots are secondary.”
More information about the team and how to get involved can be found at the Cyborg Eagle’s website at www.cyborgeagles.weebly.com.
Thomas Maloney (left), and Noah Reardon, both 15, of La Grange, members of the Cyborg Eagles robotics club share the controls as they demonstrate their work to patrons at the Oak Park Public Library main branch on Friday.
Photo by Bill Ackerman - [email protected]
Photo by Bill Ackerman - [email protected]
Nate Wolcott (right), 14, of La Grange, explains the task to be performed by the robot, to Xavier Ntamere, 9, of Oak Park. The Cyborg Eagles robotics club demonstrate their work to patrons at the Oak Park Public Library main branch on Friday.
Photo by Bill Ackerman - [email protected]
Photo by Bill Ackerman - [email protected]
CHECK US OUT ON THE ILLINOIS FTC WEBSITE
the doings la grange - February 10th, 2014
La Grange robotics team gears up for state competitionBy: Jane Michaels | [email protected] | @janemichaels22
The Cyborg Eagles have landed in La Grange, and their 22-pound robot is poised to take over.
The robot carrying out the commands of Team 7089 isn’t bent on conquering. Rather, it’s designed to intrigue and inspire other teens to pursue technology challenges.
The team of students from Lyons Township High School and Park Junior High School gave a recent demonstration at the La Grange Public Library of their robot’s capabilities.
For competitions, the robot is programmed to move in all directions, pick up plastic blocks and dump them in buckets. Team members with controllers tell the robot to raise its hook, latch onto an overhead bar and do a robot chin-up, despite its boxy girth.
“We also have a PVC flag pole and a winch handle with a spinner so the flag gets pulled up,” explained eighth-grader Jonah Reardon. “But the motor is malfunctioning today. We get points for raising the flag, especially at the end.”
Periodic malfunctions are all part of the thrill of competitions in For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Tech Challenge events, a nationwide movement. There’s time in between to tinker with gears and iron out programming glitches before the next 3-minute match begins.
The Cyborg Eagles knew one another as Boy Scouts in La Grange Troop 14 and worked on a robotics merit badge together. With encouragement from mentors at the Technology Center of DuPage high school program in Addison, the Scouts formed a team last year to compete in the FIRST Lego League.
“Our robot was the size of a softball. For our first competition, we got an engineering award and went on to the state competition,” said freshman Noah Reardon, Jonah’s brother. “That got us interested in taking on a bigger challenge.”
Team members met throughout the summer to learn Robot C programming and began building their larger robot in September, when rules for the season were announced. The FIRST Tech Challenge offers a maze of regulations, specifications and strategies for earning points, which team members rattle off with ease.
Even better than getting the robot to work as planned are the life skills teens develop through the competition’s unique format, said Coach John Reardon. For each four-team match, teams pair up and form temporary alliances.
“That’s the twist. The teams are competing together and in the next match against each other,” Reardon said. “We call it learning gracious professionalism.”
Adviser Bruce Peterson said the program isn’t really just about robots.
“It’s about project management, and all of life is filled with projects,” Peterson said.
Team members said they, too, enjoy the spirit of cooperation and camaraderie fostered by the league. Members brought their robot to an LT night on clubs and activities and encouraged a high school team to form.
Recognition at competitions also is important.
“To be nominated for four awards and not get any of them was disappointing,” Noah said of the team’s performance Jan. 25 at the Highland Park qualifying tournament. “Then at the end, we got the Inspire Award, which is sort of like best overall. It was a real roller coaster ride.”
Receiving the top award automatically qualifies the team for the state competition set for Feb. 22 at the Illinois Institute of Technology campus in Chicago.
To learn more about the Cyborg Eagles and track their progress, or form a team, visit www.cyborgeagles.weebly.com.
The robot carrying out the commands of Team 7089 isn’t bent on conquering. Rather, it’s designed to intrigue and inspire other teens to pursue technology challenges.
The team of students from Lyons Township High School and Park Junior High School gave a recent demonstration at the La Grange Public Library of their robot’s capabilities.
For competitions, the robot is programmed to move in all directions, pick up plastic blocks and dump them in buckets. Team members with controllers tell the robot to raise its hook, latch onto an overhead bar and do a robot chin-up, despite its boxy girth.
“We also have a PVC flag pole and a winch handle with a spinner so the flag gets pulled up,” explained eighth-grader Jonah Reardon. “But the motor is malfunctioning today. We get points for raising the flag, especially at the end.”
Periodic malfunctions are all part of the thrill of competitions in For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Tech Challenge events, a nationwide movement. There’s time in between to tinker with gears and iron out programming glitches before the next 3-minute match begins.
The Cyborg Eagles knew one another as Boy Scouts in La Grange Troop 14 and worked on a robotics merit badge together. With encouragement from mentors at the Technology Center of DuPage high school program in Addison, the Scouts formed a team last year to compete in the FIRST Lego League.
“Our robot was the size of a softball. For our first competition, we got an engineering award and went on to the state competition,” said freshman Noah Reardon, Jonah’s brother. “That got us interested in taking on a bigger challenge.”
Team members met throughout the summer to learn Robot C programming and began building their larger robot in September, when rules for the season were announced. The FIRST Tech Challenge offers a maze of regulations, specifications and strategies for earning points, which team members rattle off with ease.
Even better than getting the robot to work as planned are the life skills teens develop through the competition’s unique format, said Coach John Reardon. For each four-team match, teams pair up and form temporary alliances.
“That’s the twist. The teams are competing together and in the next match against each other,” Reardon said. “We call it learning gracious professionalism.”
Adviser Bruce Peterson said the program isn’t really just about robots.
“It’s about project management, and all of life is filled with projects,” Peterson said.
Team members said they, too, enjoy the spirit of cooperation and camaraderie fostered by the league. Members brought their robot to an LT night on clubs and activities and encouraged a high school team to form.
Recognition at competitions also is important.
“To be nominated for four awards and not get any of them was disappointing,” Noah said of the team’s performance Jan. 25 at the Highland Park qualifying tournament. “Then at the end, we got the Inspire Award, which is sort of like best overall. It was a real roller coaster ride.”
Receiving the top award automatically qualifies the team for the state competition set for Feb. 22 at the Illinois Institute of Technology campus in Chicago.
To learn more about the Cyborg Eagles and track their progress, or form a team, visit www.cyborgeagles.weebly.com.
Video by Jane Michaels originally on the Chicago Sun-Times website: http://lagrange.suntimes.com/news/robots-LAG-02102014:article
Inside LaGrange Magazine - December 2013
LaGrange robotics team prepares for competition.
http://www.lionnewspaper.com/news/2013/10/16/lagrange-robotics-team-prepares-for-competition/
LaGrange robotics team prepares for competition
October 16, 2013 • Michael Rasmussen
@MikeRas50, Reporter
Filed under News
LaGrange robotics team prepares for competition
October 16, 2013 • Michael Rasmussen
@MikeRas50, Reporter
Filed under News
As many students return home from a rough day of school and release their stress through video games, seven students from Park Junior High and LT meet at the LaGrange Library to design a robot, complete with nuts, bolts and a fully-programmed microprocessor. Noah Reardon ‘17 hastily scribbles a list of items and a rough sketch of a robot design on a mobile whiteboard in the back. His brother, eighth grader Jonah Reardon, makes budget spreadsheets on his laptop, while Denisse Manzanilla ‘15 uses 3D CAD software to virtually design the group’s robot.
These students make up a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics Team, which they have named the Cyborg Eagles. The challenge is held under an organization called For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), which holds robotics competitions and programs to develop students’ engineering and technology skills, while also inspiring them to become leaders in innovation. The team has recently moved up a competition tier, from FIRST Lego League (FLL) last year to FTC this year. The Cyborg Eagles hope to achieve success against teams in FTC after doing well in FLL.
“We won our first [tournament] for engineering and design,” Noah said. “And for the state competition, we didn’t take a prize, but we still learned a lot.”
This year’s FTC competition is dubbed “FTC Block Party” and involves two teams controlling robots in an alliance against another team with the same goal of manipulating blocks for points. Prospering at the strategic aspect of the competition is essential to winning matches, according to engineer, team coach, and father of Jonah and Noah, John Reardon.
“Chances are when you get there, something [in the robot] is not going to work,” he said. “When you’re competing, you’ve got to adjust your strategy to conform to the obstacles.”
There’s two major steps in building a robot. The first is piecing together the physical components and the second is using computer software to program the robot’s brain, a microprocessor. The whole process takes a lot of time and trial-and-error, but the team members find it very rewarding.
“The creation aspect is cool,” Noah said. “[It’s] the satisfaction of creating something and saying ‘I did this myself.’”
The main obstacle in building the robot each year is the great expenditure that goes into the robot’s components and competition costs. As an FTC rookie team, their budget is around $3,000. They’ve spent about $2,000 so far, but the team hopes to close the gap through fundraisers, such as selling candy bars, and possibly a sponsorship.
Community outreach is part of being a FIRST team, so the Cyborg Eagles have influenced students at LT’s tech club to begin their own robotics team. Although the team is inexperienced, team member Jack Ducham ‘15 is excited to start the robot-building process.
“It’ll be really interesting going into [competition] with zero experience,” Ducham said. “There’s going to be a lot of learning.”
According to Cyborg Eagles mentor Bruce Peterson, who provides technical assistance and advice to teams around the Chicagoland area, educating students in the technical field is essential to today’s changing job market, where engineers and programmers are becoming increasingly important to the nation’s economy. He also believes robotics teaches invaluable skills that students can apply to anything in life.
“They’re learning leadership, time management, money management, physics, math, self-confidence, and design,” Peterson said. “This is more than robotics.”
FIRST Robotic Club Arrives
Inside La Grange Magazine by HIBU publishing printed an article on the club in their November edition. It arrived on our doorstep on Halloween.
Cyborg Dreams Fuel La Grange's First Robotics Club
La Grange Patch - September 6, 2013
Students from Lyons Township High School and Park Junior High will spend the next three months creating a robot to compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge.
Posted by Lauren Williamson (Editor) , September 04, 2013 at 10:57 PM
Comment 1 Recommend
Posted by Lauren Williamson (Editor) , September 04, 2013 at 10:57 PM
Comment 1 Recommend
The Cyborg Eagles demonstrate a robot at the Lyons Township High School Co-Curricular Night. Photo Credit: John Reardon
Playing with LEGOs isn’t what it used to be—especially if you’ve got the brains of the kids in La Grange’s first robotics club.
The Cyborg Eagles will spend the next three months engineering a robot out of LEGO MINDSTORMS, among other components, which will compete this December in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Tech Challenge.
“It’s always been my dream to make my own robot,” said Noah Reardon, 14, a freshman at LTHS. His brother Jonah, 13, is also part of the club.
Even though the club officially organized this summer, its members previously competed together in a 4H robotics league. About half of the kids go to Park Junior High and the other half attends Lyons Township High School. They work under the guidance of retired electrical engineer Bruce Petersen.
Petersen, of Lisle, brings to the Cyborg Eagles his experience as a mentor to a high school robotics team out of the Illinois Institute of Technology.
He and the kids met throughout the summer at the La Grange Public Library to begin training and teambuilding.
“It’s a cool program,” Petersen said. “They learn so much: project management, leadership, self confidence, math and applied physics, so they see how it’s used in a real application.”
The team will find out on Saturday the theme of this year’s FIRST challenge. In previous years, the robots have had to complete tasks such as building a small house or shooting baskets.
Aside from guidelines for the specs and materials, Petersen said there are few limits to how the robots take shape.
“It gets pretty sophisticated, and it’s a really, really good education for the kids,” he said. “… . There is no one right robot, so everyone gets to design their own.”
It takes about $1,000 to launch a club, and then another $1,000 for each trip, Petersen said. The Cyborg Eagles got some funding from 4H this year, but they’ll be looking for sponsors to keep them going.
The club made its public debut about two weeks ago at the LTHS Co-Curricular Night. LTHS’ Technology Club admired the robots so much that its members decided to form a robotics team, too.
“My rookie team has started another rookie team,” Petersen said with pride, adding that his team at IIT has inspired four offshoots.
Both the Cyborg Eagles and the IIT team will convene this weekend as the 2013 challenge is announced. They’ll spend the day teambuilding, reviewing the rules and studying how the game is played.
If they advance in December during the FIRST Tech Challenge qualifying rounds, they’ll continue competing through the spring for the opportunity to vie for the world championship in April.
Noah, for one, isn’t phased.
“A lot of people are intimidated by the challenge or fear it may be too hard,” he said. “But everyone starts somewhere, and once you know some basic things you can make robots.”
Interested in supporting the Cyborg Eagles? Visit the team website: cyborgeagles.weebly.com.
The doings La Grange - September 2, 2013
La Grange robotics club competes as FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics team
September 02, 2013 10:00 a.m. By: Staff Report
LA GRANGE — A group of young adults from La Grange with a passion for learning formed a Robotics Club over the summer.
They asked their mentor, Bruce Petersen, a retired electrical engineer with nine patents, to teach them electronics over the summer. Meeting at the La Grange Public Library, they explored the fundamentals of electrical theory, circuits and programming.
Having competed in a 4H robotics league in spring, they decided to take their new knowledge to bigger challenges and signed up to compete as a FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Team.
The acronym, FIRST stands for: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.
These Park Junior High and Lyons Township High School Students come together as FTC Team 7089. Consisting of three girls and four boys, they have been keeping busy building the team website, studying the programming language RoboticC and looking for outreach opportunities.
As part of their outreach, Team 7089 brought some of their robots and the message of the FIRST mission to the Lyons Township High School Co-curricular Night to draw attention to the high school’s Technology Club, which hasn’t had a robotics team in the past. The members of the club voted to form their own team within the club, giving La Grange two robotics teams.
Anyone interested in contributing time, money or skills to the team or just learning more about FIRST is encouraged to visit the team’s website.
LA GRANGE — A group of young adults from La Grange with a passion for learning formed a Robotics Club over the summer.
They asked their mentor, Bruce Petersen, a retired electrical engineer with nine patents, to teach them electronics over the summer. Meeting at the La Grange Public Library, they explored the fundamentals of electrical theory, circuits and programming.
Having competed in a 4H robotics league in spring, they decided to take their new knowledge to bigger challenges and signed up to compete as a FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Team.
The acronym, FIRST stands for: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.
These Park Junior High and Lyons Township High School Students come together as FTC Team 7089. Consisting of three girls and four boys, they have been keeping busy building the team website, studying the programming language RoboticC and looking for outreach opportunities.
As part of their outreach, Team 7089 brought some of their robots and the message of the FIRST mission to the Lyons Township High School Co-curricular Night to draw attention to the high school’s Technology Club, which hasn’t had a robotics team in the past. The members of the club voted to form their own team within the club, giving La Grange two robotics teams.
Anyone interested in contributing time, money or skills to the team or just learning more about FIRST is encouraged to visit the team’s website.
Illinois first ftc website
http://www.ilfirst.org/ftc/ftc-news.html Article about Cyborg Eagles posted on the Illinois FTC website