The first day of Advanced Robotics Camp 2004 in Murray, Kentucky, was a success.  The campers began the day by gathering around the virtual campfire and discussing the plans for the day and for the week. The advanced camp teams are building with the Team Challenge set, which is much larger than any other set we've used in the past. The first activity was "Span the Distance" which required the campers to build a bridge that would span a 3 foot distance. Camper Teams constructed bridges, most weighing less than 450g, that held 1 or 2 golf balls proving their bridge's strength. "Lever Action" challenged campers to build a cantilever that would support a golf ball suspended from a lever. The largest distance our cantilever spanned today was 31.5 inches. Our third activity, "Coast for the Most," required camper teams to focus on using good building techniques to create vehicles that would coast as far as possible after going down a long ramp. They also worked on reducing friction as much as possible. This will be helpful when we build our robotic vehicles later in the camp. Tomorrow we'll begin working with gears, pulleys, and our alternative power sources (capacitors and solar panels) to complete specific tasks that required the use of motors, and then move onto the RCX, or "programmable brick."

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