Is the meat you’re buying safe? Count on the “antibotcha” robot to
be able to tell if that meat is a dirty cut.
A team of high school students from Bulacan province developed the
robot, which they programmed to be able to tell through color sensors if meat
is fresh or derived from long-dead animals, known here as “botcha.”
The students from Dr. Yanga’s Colleges Inc. (DYCI) were scheduled
to leave Monday to bring their robot, Magis Version 2 (Meat’s Anti-Germs and
Infection Solution), to St. Louis, Missouri, as the Philippines’ entry to the
2012 Lego League robot competition organized by For Inspiration and
Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST).
FIRST is a US-based organization that encourages students to study
science, engineering and technology through mentor-based programs and
competitions. It was founded in 1989 by American inventor and entrepreneur Dean
Kamen, best known for inventing the automated transporter Segway.
The competition’s theme this year is Food Factor, which challenges
students to develop technology that could help keep food safe for human
consumption.
“We congratulate the DYCI Blue Ocean 10 for making it to the FLL
(FIRST Lego League) and we are optimistic that you would bring honor to the
Philippines as you join the international competition,” Filma Brawner, director
of the Department of Science and Technology’s Science Education Institute, said
in an April 12 statement announcing the selection of the DYCI team as the
Philippine representative to the competition.
“It is our hope that our students will be able to use this
experience to get into careers in science in the future,” Brawner said.
The 10 teenagers on the DYCI Blue Ocean team are Gladys Leigh
Malana, 16, the team captain; Tricia Carmela Santos, 14; Ramikert del Prado,
15; Michelle Arcanar, 13; Kate de la Cruz, 13; Lady Alein Goleng, 15; Jules
Martin Agsaoay, 15; Jonathan Alejandro, 15; Dave Adrian Bien, 13; and Tim Jhalmar
Fabillon, 12.
DYCI teachers Beryl Jhan Cruz and Romyr Gimeno will coach the team
during the competition.
“Competitions become a test bed for our students where they try to
outwit, outlast and outplay others through their skills and intellect in science
and mathematics,” Brawner said. “We are positive that this experience
will bring out the best from our students.”
The Philippines won the FIRST Robotics Competition in Hawaii in
2009 when it fielded Larry Labuyo in the game Lunacy, where competing robots
were challenged to put the most number of moon rocks on the trailer of opposing
robots.
Photo
Credit: www.Inquirer.net
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