The robots are coming!
The world's biggest robotics competition is happening in Detroit this Wednesday through Saturday, bringing some 40-thousand students, mentors, coaches and their families to Ford Field and Cobo Center. This is the first year that this world robotics championship is being held in Michigan.
Michigan has 508 high school robotics teams. That’s more than any other state, and way ahead of second-place California, with 314 teams.
One of those teams? The Cesar Chavez Academy Az-Tech Eagles 4680.
Milton Martinez is the Chief Engineer for this team. He is a lead calibrator for hybrid propulsion systems at GM and Chief of Chiefs at the Robotics Engineering Center of Detroit. Kaelyn Hicks is a senior at Detroit’s Cesar Chavez Academy. She’s been with the Az-Tech Eagles since she was a freshman. She is the team captain and head programmer of this year’s robot.
Martinez and Hicks joined Stateside to discuss what the robotics competition entails, and to explain their robot Edwino. They also talk about what science and technology means to them, and about the impact robotics has for future STEM professionals. Listen above.
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