For Release: January 13, 1997
Nicole Forest
NASA Langley Research Center
(757) 864-5036
Michael Finneran
NASA Langley Research Center
(757) 864-6121
Ann Steven
Hampton School District,
Director, Public Relations
(757) 850-5392
RELEASE NO. 97-002b
NASA Supports Hampton School in National Robotics
Competition
Students at Phoebus High School in Hampton are building a robot
for a national competition with some help from NASA Langley
Research Center.
"We (NASA) view this competition as an on-going project with
Phoebus," said Mike Little, NASA Information Technology Officer.
"The real win is for the kids to have time working with engineers
on this type of problem and for everyone to come away motivated
about science and engineering."
NASA has given the group of 32 students from Phil May's Robotics
class $30,000 to participate in the Sixth Annual For Inspiration
Recognition of Science and Technology high school robotics
competition. The competition, founded in 1989, is designed to
revitalize American youths' interest in science and technology.
NASA engineers will mentor the students for seven weeks to build
a robot tasked to go through a series of obstacle courses. The
Phoebus robot will compete against robots built by teams from
across the U.S..
More than 150 teams are expected to compete this year, including
more than 10 teams fielded by NASA Centers. Last year was the
agency's first year participating in the competition. The teams
will compete regionally March 20 at Rutgers University in New
Jersey. The national competition will be held April 10 at Epcot
Center, Orlando, Fla.
Previously, Phil May and his program have been competitively
awarded grants related to robotics for kids with disabilities and
have received materials from the Langley Robotics Lab. They have
also competed in local robotics competitions.
"The student's have decided to dedicate the competition to Mike
Fontaine and name themselves, 'Michael's team,' " May said.
Fontaine, a Hampton man who has Lou Gehrig's disease, uses a
special communication system, called the Ocular Tracking System,
created by the robotics students. The system, using a computer and
special sensors, acts as a voice for Fontaine.
Media are invited to attend the Robotics class at 8:30 a.m.,
January 16, at Phoebus High School, 100 Ireland Street, Hampton. If
you would like to attend please make arrangements with Nicole
Forest at 864-5036.
-end-
text-only version of this release | 
