Sixth-grader Camille Hoskins is reminded of her grandmother every time she and her classmates work on their new invention.
The Sycamore Elementary School and Central Middle School robotics team is building a set of stairs to help the elderly get in and out of large vehicles.
The project is one aspect of the team’s upcoming robotics competition.
For five weeks, team members have been doing research.
Students watched YouTube videos, called doctors and physical therapists, and spoke to nursing homes.
They want to know how they can best help senior citizens in the community, robotics coach Jim McCarter said.
For Camille, the project hits close to home. Someone close to her may need her help soon, she said.
“My grandma has Alzheimer’s,” she said. “I really try to remember some of the things I learn, so I can help her in the future.”
Camille’s teammates hope their research project helps a lot of other people, too.
McCarter said the kids are partnering with Samaritan Caregivers in Kokomo to develop the portable stairs.
The local organization provides transportation to seniors more than 3,000 times a year, McCarter said.
The older men and women have complained, though, that they can’t get in and out of the volunteers’ vehicles very well, McCarter said.
“Seniors have trouble getting into big vehicles, but they still need to go places,” the robotics coach said.
Volunteers carry around step stools that are 6 inches tall, but even that’s too big a step for older people, McCarter said.
So students have set out to find a better way to get senior citizens safely inside vehicles.
Their first idea was a mechanical lift. Team member Wesley Grove and his grandfather built a model out of wood.
“One night we were up to almost midnight working on it,” Wesley said. “Then I finished it the next day from noon to 3 p.m.”
Once it was built, however, team members realized it was too big and too bulky to be practical for the Samaritan Caregivers volunteers.
“If they won’t use it, it’s worthless,” McCarter said.
They needed something smaller and more portable, fifth-grader Katie Devine said.
That’s when they came up with the idea for a set of stairs made out of a strong, durable foam.
Students are still working out the details of the latest idea, but McCarter said the goal is for each stair to be just 3 inches tall and 11 inches wide.
They want the whole stair set to fit easily into a golf bag, he said.
The robotics team has about two weeks to test the idea. On Nov. 17, the students will present their project at the F.I.R.S.T LEGO League qualifying tournament at Purdue University.
Team members have 5 minutes to convince the judges their idea is well-researched and will work.
They’ll make posters, perform skits and make a sales pitch to the judges.
“This project is huge,” said team member Taya Grove. “You can’t win the competition with just the robots.”
Students said scoring at the competition changed recently to put more emphasis on the research project.
This year’s competition theme is senior solutions. Team members are challenged to come up with ideas that help senior citizens become more independent, engaged and connected, McCarter said.
That theme even carries over to the actual competition between robots. They earn points by performing activities and tasks that a senior citizen might be found doing.
Last week, Camille and her partner fine-tuned their own robot.
In less than 3 minutes, their robot could successfully bowl, fix a LEGO chair, exercise, quilt and pick up a pill bottle, among other things.
Both the research project and robots require a lot of work, though.
The students practice more than an hour a day, four days a week.
Camille said they sometimes have six-hour “marathon” practices on the weekends.
But the program is good for the whole team, McCarter said.
He said his students take a lot away from the robots, but they get something extra special from the research project.
This year they might get to help some people out with their stairs, he said.
“Samaritan Caregivers might actually be able to use this,” he said. “It’s very worthwhile.”
Local News
Related Photos
-
WHAT’S IN A NAME? Taya Grove, 10, from left, Cooper Reed, 11, Wesley Grove, 12, and Anjelo Flores, 10, work together to create a name for steps they are working to create for senior citizens that will allow them to easily get into a car.
-
HAPPY CAMPER: Nathanael Elkin, 10, shows his excitement as his robotics creation completes its mission successfully, while his partner Abram Barlow, 11, watches.
Discussion
November 5, 2012
Students invent car stairs for senior citizens
- Local News
-
-
Digging into learning
Jerry Ousley's 7-year-old grandson David got to pet almost all of the animals at the Silly Safari, including a rabbit named Bunny FuFu, an armadillo and even a 7-foot-long yellow Burmese python. But David said his favorite was Jenna the dog. Ousley
- Strip club case heads to court Tuesday The city of Kokomo and the owners of the Tease strip club are due in court next week, with the city seeking to permanently close the near southside club. City planning officials revoked the club's grandfathered zoning status in December after the own
- Accused doctors seek venue changes Dr. Robert Brewer heads to court today to seek a change of venue for his trial on drug dealing charges, while fellow Wagoner Medical Center physicians Don Wagoner and Marilyn Wagoner will be in court Friday to seek a venue change. The Wagoners, repre
-
Brown is Western's new baseball skipper
RUSSIAVILLE -- For the first time since the Carter administration, Western High School has a new baseball coach. Former Panthers diamond standout Quentin Brown was approved as the new skipper at Western's school board meeting Tuesday night, 6-0. Boar
-
Court lets walk-out fines against House Democrats stand
House Democrats who had to pay more than $100,000 in fines after they walked out of the Indiana Statehouse won’t get the help they sought from the Indiana Supreme Court.
-
A stroll through the gardens
The large, brick house at 802 E. Sycamore St. was built in the 1850s by Howard County's first judge. It's an old house with a lot of history, and it's surrounded by a small forest of old trees. There's a 100-year-old magnolia, 40-year-old tulip pop
- Governor reveals ambitious goals INDIANAPOLIS - Following a directive from Gov. Mike Pence, state agency heads are re-organizing some of their top priorities to better reflect the first-year governor's "roadmap for Indiana" plan for improving the state's economy, infrastructure and
- Maconaquah set to hire armed officer BUNKER HILL -- The Maconaquah School District will hire an armed security officer next school year to patrol the district's four buildings. Maconaquah will be the first district in Miami County to hire an armed officer, also known as a school resourc
-
Not always a bad thing
In town, floods are a mess. All of the roadside litter gets swept up and channeled into flood areas, where it snags and looks disgusting. Flood waters, laden with raw sewage from combined sewer outfalls, gets into walls and flooring, creating a stenc
- Local teen explores wireless technology Eighteen-year-old Cade Meurer has spent years exploring ways to transmit electricity wirelessly - a fairly new concept that's now earning him national recognition. The recent Eastern High School graduate submitted his research and work to Google Scie
- More Local News Headlines
-
James Gandolfini Dies at Age 51
Fmr. TWA Flight 800 Investigators Want New Probe
Raw: Heat, Spurs Back on Court Ahead of Game 7
Dolce and Gabbana Convicted of Tax Evasion
Paris, Prince Depositions Used in Jackson Trial
Coiffed Cattle Get Their Close-up
In Berlin, Obama Channels Cold War Activism
Police at Patriots Tight End's Home for 2nd Day
Fed Suggests Bond Purchases Could Slow
AP: DOJ Broke Own Rules Seizing Phone Records
Raw: Baby White Rhino Debuts at Australian Zoo
Time Lapse: Rebuilding Bridge Post-collapse
Ohio Woman Accuses 3 of Holding Her Captive
Hunt for Ex-Teamster Boss Hoffa's Remains Ends
