The Robotics Research Center hosted two FIRST Teams

The Ossining and Clarkstown High School Robotics clubs met with LTC Christopher Korpela for a meeting and tour of the West Point Robotics program and center. The students participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition and were excited to see further applications of the technology they are learning about in school. LTC Korpela introduced them to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) swarm aerial competition, showed the students the motion capture room for quadcopter control, and let students operate bomb disposal robots (Packbots). The highlight of the tour was the demonstration of Baxter and lethal autonomous robots as well as the ethical issues involved with such a system. It was a great discussion on the implications of new technology and how it needs to be carefully considered on multiple levels, not just from a technology point of view.