Hosted by the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, the BEAM Workshop will provide participants with information, mentoring and materials for constructing their own robots or for improving upon robots they bring to the workshop.
"This year is slightly different from past BEAM Workshops in that we have a special session for the younger robot enthusiasts," said Paul Argo, a staff member in Los Alamos' Space and Atmospheric Sciences Group. "There will be a workshop session on Saturday morning for grade school students and their parents, or other adult companion, to come out an build a robot."
Kits for specific BEAM robot designs -- solarollers, solar flappers and photopoppers -- will be available to participants. Each participant will receive one kit; more complicated kits will be made available as the workshop progresses and as supplies last. Kits are free to students and available at a cost of $30 to $60 for adult participants.
Although some tools will be available at the workshop, students are encouraged to bring their own safety glasses, soldering irons, mini-snips, needle nose pliers and other tools as well as potential robot components such as broken Walkman tape players, motors, transistors, gears, solar cells and other items of possible usefulness.
The student participants will be working and having lunch at the Senior Center on both Thursday and Friday. Los Alamos seniors are invited and encouraged to join the students at the workshop and for lunch.
The BEAM acronym stands for biology, electronics, aesthetics and mechanics and refers to the revolutionary approach to robotics pioneered by BEAM founder and Los Alamos scientist Mark Tilden. BEAM robots are modeled more on the simple, repetitive biological processes of insects than the complex, human-like operations that are the goal of traditional robotics. Argo is one of several researchers at the Laboratory exploring how adaptive robots can be applied to specific functions in space or on Earth.
The BEAM workshop often includes such events as races between solarollers or legged robot constructions and sumo wrestling, in which one robot tries to push another out of an area. Last year's workshop and games attracted more than 70 students. In the past students from Pojoaque High School went on to participate in the international BEAM games in India, and took second-place honors against teams from 42 countries.
The workshop is sponsored and funded by the Laboratory's Science Education Outreach office. As usual, there is no cost to student participants, but they must provide a formal letter from their schools approving their attendance at the workshop during school hours. To register or get additional information on the workshop, send e-mail to Paul Argo at pargo@lanl.gov or call him at (505) 667-8355.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.