{"620323":{"#nid":"620323","#data":{"type":"news","title":"RoboJackets: Two Decades of Fostering Leadership in Robotics","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJust before the start of this month\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nationalroboticsweek.org\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E10\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E Annual National Robotics Week\u003C\/a\u003E festivities, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/robojackets.org\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s RoboJackets\u003C\/a\u003E had a little celebration of their own.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe competitive robotics group \u0026shy;\u0026ndash; whose membership includes students, faculty, and alumni \u0026ndash; celebrated their 20\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E anniversary in March.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ETo commemorate the milestone, RoboJackets hosted a showcase event on March 30. Combat robotics, autonomous RC car racing, and Lego Sumo competitions were highlights of the free event held at the Georgia Tech Student Center. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring a brief Q\u0026amp;A session, third-year computer science major and RoboJackets Communications Director \u003Cstrong\u003EKyla Qi\u003C\/strong\u003E shared more details about the event and the group\u0026rsquo;s history.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGT Computing: Congratulations on RoboJackets\u0026rsquo; 20\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E anniversary. Is there a specific date that is recognized?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKyla Qi:\u003C\/strong\u003E Thank you! There isn\u0026rsquo;t an exact day, but RoboJackets was formed\u0026nbsp;to compete in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/youtu.be\/LZO_f8kR0II\u0022\u003E1999 Battlebot competition\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and was officially chartered shortly after the event.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESo, how did the group celebrate?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOn March 30th, we hosted some competitions and showcases of our robots in and around the Student Center. To celebrate our Battlebot roots, we included a combat competition. It featured robots weighing up to three pounds in a double elimination combat tournament and was definitely a highlight of the day. The autonomous remote control scale RC car race in the Student Center ballroom and a LEGO Sumo competition were also lots of fun!\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.robotics.gatech.edu\/outreach\/robotcards\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E[RELATED: Download Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s 2019 Robot All-Star Trading Cards]\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u0026nbsp;is the current membership total?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERoboJackets started with around 3 students. The group has steadily grown over the years and now has 255 dues-paying members this year.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow was the turnout for the anniversary event? Did any club alums or VIPs attend the celebration?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe event was really successful! I\u0026rsquo;d say more than 100 people attended throughout the day. The only real VIP attending was RoboJackets Founder \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/brad-geving-68833a2\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBrad Geving\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E. He was a judge for some of the competitions. There were also lots of other group alumni participating as judges and attending as spectators.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/smartech.gatech.edu\/bitstream\/handle\/1853\/7936\/Technique-2000-08-25.pdf?sequence=7\u0026amp;isAllowed=y\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E[FLASHBACK: Bringing Mean Machines to Life \u0026ndash;\u0026nbsp;page 11, Technique, Aug. 2000]\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat would you say is the group\u0026rsquo;s purpose?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe RoboJackets mission is to\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EPromote, Educate, Advance\u003C\/em\u003E, in relation to the field of robotics. Our goal is to empower our members and teach them the skills to design, manufacture, power, and program robots. As important, we want to help develop their leadership skills and help generate interest in robotics at Georgia Tech and in the Atlanta area. We believe in learning by doing and our capacity to provide members and the community with hands-on opportunities has increased substantially as the group increased in space, resources, membership, and organizational complexity.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat are some of the club\u0026rsquo;s biggest accomplishments?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESome of our recent tangible victories include:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EVictory Royale\u0026nbsp;at Motorama 2018\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003ETaking second place in RoboGames 2018\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EWinning \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/avc.sparkfun.com\/\u0022\u003ESparkfun Autonomous Vehicle Competition\u003C\/a\u003E in 2017 and 2018\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EWinning a second place finish in \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.igvc.org\/\u0022\u003EIntelligent Ground Vehicle Competition\u003C\/a\u003E 2018 design competition\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHowever, I\u0026rsquo;d have to say that our biggest accomplishment has been continuously growing, improving, and fostering a culture of learning, community, and leadership in robotics.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow has the club evolved over the years?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERoboJackets has grown immensely in the last 20 years. We started out as a group of students that wanted to build a combat robot for a single event. But as our needs and mission grew we realized the group had to evolve to keep pace.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs an example, shortly after the group was launched, we began mentoring a local \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.firstinspires.org\/robotics\/frc\u0022\u003EFIRST Robotics Competition\u003C\/a\u003E high school team. We realized at that point that the group would benefit by having an outreach team. So, we have developed additional teams over the years as our members discovered new projects and opportunities for advancement in robotics. Along with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/robojackets.org\/teams\/outreach\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EOutreach\u003C\/a\u003E, we currently have teams dedicated to\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/robojackets.org\/teams\/roboracing\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERoboRacing\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/robojackets.org\/teams\/intelligent-ground-vehicle-competition\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EIGVC\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/robojackets.org\/teams\/robocup\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERoboCup\u003C\/a\u003E, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/robojackets.org\/teams\/battlebots\/\u0022\u003EBattleBots\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Founded by three students in 1999, Georgia Tech\u0027s robotics competition group now has 255 members.  "}],"uid":"32045","created_gmt":"2019-04-11 16:01:17","changed_gmt":"2019-04-11 19:59:32","author":"Ben Snedeker","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-04-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2019-04-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"620324":{"id":"620324","type":"image","title":"RoboJackets 20th anniversary web banner","body":null,"created":"1554998652","gmt_created":"2019-04-11 16:04:12","changed":"1554998652","gmt_changed":"2019-04-11 16:04:12","alt":"RoboJackets 20th Anniversary Web Banner","file":{"fid":"236199","name":"20th-banner-980x406 (1).png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/20th-banner-980x406%20%281%29.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/20th-banner-980x406%20%281%29.png","mime":"image\/png","size":55464,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/20th-banner-980x406%20%281%29.png?itok=6j1cs1gX"}},"620343":{"id":"620343","type":"image","title":"RoboJackets Founder Meets with Current Members","body":null,"created":"1555012680","gmt_created":"2019-04-11 19:58:00","changed":"1555012680","gmt_changed":"2019-04-11 19:58:00","alt":"RoboJackets Founder Brad Geving meets with current members during the RoboJackets\u00a020th-anniversary celebration held March 30.","file":{"fid":"236208","name":"meetingbradgeving.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/meetingbradgeving.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/meetingbradgeving.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":725094,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/meetingbradgeving.jpg?itok=eENfhWyE"}}},"media_ids":["620324","620343"],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"11489","name":"RoboJackets"},{"id":"177254","name":"GTComputing"},{"id":"181014","name":"kyla qi"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAlbert Snedeker, Communications Manager\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/albert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ealbert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["albert.snedeker@cc.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}