Down the street from the future Ideaventions Academy, on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University, an inquisitive set of kids are building and designing robots. They’re part of the summer camp program offered by Infamous Robotics, a company launched in 2007 by GMU grad Anthony Nunez (above). The kids learn circuit building, programming and mechanical engineering. When we visited yesterday, they were programming their robots to go through a maze.
Infamous Robotics was originally launched as an R&D firm. But there was growing educational interest, so the R&D business was spun off as INF Robotics, which is developing a robotic personal assistant for seniors and wounded soldiers. Anthony says the education piece started with the Girl Scouts and the program continues to attract girls interested in engineering. The idea is to prepare the students for robotics careers, since so many fields are now using robots. Scientists studying volcanoes are using robots to get closer to lava, and construction firms are using robots to reach narrow bridges and ledges.
Anthony, snapped yesterday at GMU's engineering school where the camps are held, says some students will compete at the Smithsonian’s Global Inventor Challenge. One of the Infamous Robotics teams won first place last year, beating out thousands from all over the world. Anthony is now considering opening a school and expanding the programs to offer them more frequently. A drone class was launched, and Anthony is exploring adding more robotics-related classes like this one.
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