How Robots Build Humans
Allison Conrad
Mrs. Straub
AP Economics
21 October 2014
How Robots Build Humans
In an age filled to the brim with smartphones, iPads, and Facebook, our society has become dependent on the hottest technologies of the day, and behind each and every one of those electricity powered devices resides an engineer. Yet our world’s moving forward at an alarming rate into technological reliance, leaving over a hundred thousand unfilled engineering jobs nationwide. However as other programs work to create our future basketball superstars or our next professional bowlers, one alone works to promote the fields of science and engineering that has touched over 350,000 students, 64,000 adult mentors, and 66,000 other volunteers last year alone. FIRST: For The Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is an organization that involves students aged six to eighteen through its various age group specific programs. Students become involved in the creation of building robots and exuding the values of the organization: teamwork, cooperation, and a drive to succeed in whatever future aspirations the students have. (To learn more about FIRST, watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7k5IxsixO4)
FIRST is a huge boon to it’s students, providing a wide range of scholarship opportunities even for those not wanting to go into engineering. The utility for each student attending those regional competitions is staggering, the bright lights, the mascots, the flashes of neon and LED’s everywhere, giveaway items distributed to everyone and everyone, only adds to the experience of the entire event itself as a whole. Many chose their career paths based off this experience alone, and it can completely change a student's future. Student’s are 35% more likely to go to college in any career, and 23% more likely to go into engineering as a career later in life. Another positive externality from FIRST on to its students is that they are much more likely to volunteer their time than the average student (41% more likely), showing that the program not only makes better students, but better people too.
However in the first week of the new season as the “game” for the year is announced (2012 was a basketball themed year, 2013 Frisbee golf, ect.) the insanity that ensues can be a huge surprise to new rookie teams. Some of the explicit costs would be the original Regional competition fee at $5000, the robot would cost around $4000, spirit wear, transportation, new equipment, food and more, making a seemingly very large barrier of entry for new teams. Yet other veteran teams, schools, and large companies help guide and fund these new teams, easing the process significantly and contributing to the over 5000 teams currently in FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC, high school level robotics) alone. But for those involved, the implicit costs can seem higher, the average of 25 hour weeks during the build season seriously limit both students and mentors time for work and for other interests, making it near impossible to be in say a sport in addition to robotics. Robotics is a sport, a sport of the mind, and the challenge it presents to students offers a unique experience like no other, learning about how to make robots sure but more importantly about how to work together and truly become a team.
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