Kick Off Schedule Nearly Ready

Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics volunteers are preparing an exciting Kick Off Day for you this year. While the schedule is not completely ready for release, we can tell you that Kick Off will take place on Saturday, September 21. Doors of the Tom Bevill Lyceum will open at 8:00 am. All teams should be registered and ready for an 8:30 am kick off. Lunch will be provided, and the day should be over no later than 2:00 pm.

What's in store for Kick Off Day?

• Announcement of this year's challenge
• Kit pick up
• Training sessions

So mark your calendars and plan to be at Northeast Alabama Community College on September 21 for kick off day.

Inspirational Article About Women Welders in WWII

The Gadsden Times recently published an article about Zadie Johnson, who worked as a welder in a shipyard in Mobile during World War II. At age 95, she recently told her story to Times reporter Lisa Rogers. Please consider reading this article, available at the link below:

http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20130714/NEWS/130719884?tc=cr

Did you know that there are a number of successful young women who are welders today? Visit www.nacc.edu/workforce to learn more about how to become a welder.

Save on Northeast Alabama BEST Merchandise

Our partner, Queensboro, is offering a promotion that will save you $10 on your next order of
$40 or more from our Queensboro store. Hurry though, the discount only lasts until July 18th! Simply click through the link below to begin saving.

http://northeastalabamabest.qbstores.com/OC/SF3712

 

 

News Release RE: Summer STEM Experience

A news release was just posted to the NACC site regarding the recent Summer STEM Experience. Please review the news release here:

http://www.nacc.edu/news/stem_camp.htm

New Returnable Kits Ready? Yes They Are!

We received a shipment last week from Vex Robotics that
allowed us to prepare six new returnable kits for 2013. These kits were purchased from a grant provided by the Missile Defense Agency, and will allow us to accept 6 new teams into BEST Robotics this year.

The college has also ordered kits to replace those that were purchased last year by teams and to refurbish those that were turned in at the end of the 2012 season. Those supplies should be here soon.

Do you know of a school who wants to start a BEST team for 2013? It's not too late. Just have someone from the school to contact Mrs. Nicole Carroll at 256-228-6001, ext. 2254 or via email at carrolln@nacc.edu.

Modern Manufacturing: Featuring GH Metal Solutions

Some people will ride by a manufacturing facility every day for many years with no idea of what goes on inside. If you ride by GH Metal Solutions on Airport Road in Fort Payne, you will see a large, metal building. There always seems to be a lot of activity in and around the parking lots, and lots of cars there, but do you really know what goes on there?

Check out this video about GH Metal Solutions and learn more about what makes them successful.




Do you think you might like to work in a place like this? Did you notice the robotic welders? If you know how to program a BEST robot you can quickly transfer that skill set to learning how to program industrial robots like this. Taking a course in Industrial Electronics at Northeast Alabama Community College will teach you the skills needed to run industrial robots.

BEST Robotics is about real skills for real life.

Help us Catch up with Justin Beiber on Twitter

Are you on Twitter?

If so, please find Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NortheastALBEST and follow us.

Why? Here are the top five reasons to follow Northeast Alabama BEST on Twitter:

• # 5 - You will receive tweets anytime a new article is posted to this site.
• # 4 - Receive additional content, including photos, that are not posted on this site.
• # 3 - Open a line of two-way communication with your BEST hub.
• # 2 - Think of how often you can say, "I just got an interesting tweet..."
• # 1 - We're bummed that Justin Bieber has more followers than us.

Justin = 41 million +
Northeast Alabama BEST Robotics = something less than 41 million (Okay, really less than 41).

Please connect with us! We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Talking Robot to Visit Space Station

Kirobot, a humanoid robot during
a zero-gravity test.

Want to go into space? If you were Kirobo, a 13-inch humanoid robot astronaut, your dream would be coming true. A Space.com article on relates how Japanese robot, Kirobo, will be the first talking humanoid robot to go into space.

Although designed for this purpose, Kirobo got no breaks when it came to the "physical" activities required of astronauts. He was put through a series of tests, including zero-gravity tests, to assure that he could survive in space. Kirobo comes equipped with voice-recognition technology, language processing, facial and emotion recognition, a camera and the ability to speak Japanese. You may view a video about Kirobo below.

His journey into space is set for August of this year. Learn more about Kirobo at the Kibo Robotic Project site.