The NeoBots 2903 FIRST robotics team from Arlington Public Schools was selected as one of only 12 schools around the world to conduct a beta test using the Kinect game system.

Students from the NeoBots 2903 team have been working closely with their mentors from the Arlington School District, Boeing Company and Microsoft in the development of a software operating system that would allow the Kinect system to operate with the NeoBots robot. Through several weeks of grueling software programming and testing with the robotic hardware, the students were able to get their robot to interact with the Kinect system.

Kinect, developed and produced by Microsoft, is a gaming system that translates players' body movements and even voices into commands in the games, using a motion-capture sensor.

The NeoBot 2903 team presented their Kinect Beta project at DigiPen's Redmond campus on Saturday, Nov. 12, to teams from the FIRST Robotics program from around the Puget Sound region.

On Nov. 17, eight of the NeoBots 2903 students from Arlington Public Schools were invited by the Director of Academic Programs at Microsoft to demonstrate their Kinect beta findings at the Microsoft campus in Redmond.

The AHS students put together an exceptional demonstration of their discoveries between the Kinect game system and the robot. Employees from Microsoft, international journalists from around the world and Alex Kipman, one of the inventors of the Kinect game system, were provided with impressive educational interactive demonstrations by the NeoBot students.

Kipman and several of the international journalists were given the opportunity to drive the robot using the Kinect game system that the NeoBot students developed.

On Tuesday, Nov. 22, the NeoBot 2903 team had the opportunity to demonstrate its robot for the employees from C&D Zodiac in Marysville, who have been major sponsors of the NeoBot 2903 team, contributing financial assistance, field trip opportunities and manufacturing engineer mentors.

Arlington Public Schools recently had the opportunity of showcasing several of its Career and Technical Education Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs with members of the Snohomish County Workforce Development Council, Washington State Commerce Department, and staff members from the offices of Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and Representative Jay Inslee. The district was given the opportunity to demonstrate STEM programs offered within the district in the areas of robotics, video game programming, 3D animation, pre-engineering and biotechnology.



Pictured above: Students: Dan Radion, Justin Haynes, Robert Haynes, Sean McClenaghan, Trevor Staiger, Breena Sarver, Caroline Vogl; Volunteers Amy Smith, Steve Smith, Jim Bass and Brett Sarver; Alex Kipman, inventor