The Infernolab::::Educational Outreach Image Gallery

VIRTUAL ENGINEERING CAREER PRESENTATION FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ROBOTICS CLUB [NOV 23]
A friend introduced me to her brother on the other side of the country. He's starting up a VEX IQ robotics club. I gave them an engineering presentation & plan on giving them a robotics design talk in the near future.

Title for the virtual presentation

This is where the kids are building their bots

Presenting from a little corner conference room over my lunch break at work

They wanted a glimpse of fighting robots, a preview of my next upcoming presentation

ENGINEERING CAREER PRESENTATION FOR 4TH-6H GRADERS [OCT 23]
I'd given engineering & robotics presentations to my kids' classes several times, but my son is now in classes with kids from other schools who haven't seen my presentation. was one of the older audiences I've had in a long time, so they asked some really good engineering & science questions. The 5th grade class wrote me the nicest thank-you cards with some awesome drawings & really special comments.

I'm getting a lot of mileage out of this presentation

The kids asked a ton of insightful questions about how to glue stuff together

Multi-purpose room: one of the multi purposes is engineering presentations

This was AMAZING & meant so much to me: a stack of thank-you cards

ENGINEERING & BATTLEBOTS PRESENTATION & DEMO FOR 2ND GRADERS [FEB 23]
I coordinated with a friend to give her students an introduction to engineering. Some of them hardly spoke English, but it turns out that engineering can break the language barrier! We capped it off with driving tiny robots in their classroom.

Everybody took turns driving tiny bots

They loved the hands-on robot opportunity

On display were a giant nut & the 2 youngest Dr. Infernos

250lb BattleBots are great, but these little ones are easier to haul around & share

DRAWBOTS BUILD PROJECT FOR 1ST GRADE [MAY 22]
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures or videos of the Engineering & Robotics Careers & Projects presentation & demo in April, but there were lots of parents at the Drawbots event to take photos!
We turned the local school's Innovation Lab into a Drawbots assembly line.
The kids had a great time designing, building, & testing. I think the parents had even more fun working the assembly line!
The vibration assemblies for this event were made from the same large batch as the March Girl Scouts robotics workshop, fabricated with the aid of my great kids.

*CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO THE SECTION OF THIS GALLERY WITH THE DRAWBOTS VIDEOS, THEN COME BACK HERE TO LOOK AT THE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT*		Presentation that I shared w/ the 1st grade class in April, with a bonus bot demo after	The 1st graders put together some sophisticated bots!
Orderly queue at the Drawbots Assembly Line	Gluing the vibration assemblies to the bodies	The faculty put together fantastic decoration supplies	You can never have too many pom-poms or feathers in your robot factory
This classroom had plenty of space & a smooth floor--ideal for testing lots of Drawbots	I might get some of those gear carpets for my home! Haha	The boys eventually found ways to fight & entangle their Drawbots

ROBOTICS WORKSHOP FOR GIRL SCOUTS DAISIES TROOP [MAR 22]
I got the opportunity to bring engineering, robots, & Drawbots to a local Girl Scouts Daisies troop (1st graders).
We started off with a presentation about interesting engineering careers. The girls behaved so well, & their hands kept shooting up to ask great questions.
Next, while the girls ate their robot-themed snack, I showed them how to drive some safe antweight bots then let them take turns driving.
While they were playing with the antweights, the parents & I set up our Drawbots assembly line.
The parents & the girls really came through with extra fancy decorations on their Drawbots.
We had 1 snafu: the motor weights on this batch of motors were too small, so the Drawbots didn't vibrate enough to be very active. Troubleshooting opportunity: add some hot glue & wire or other scavenged weight to the motor shaft to make them more dynamic--for a more robust solution, I enlisted my son to press 100 brass pucks into 100 brass tubes (all of which I cut on a little hobby chop saw--excuse to buy a new tool!), & then I pressed these weights onto the existing motor weights to give them more oomph. Success!
I also had my daughter help with preparing the motor/battery vibration units, because I was running the project for her Girl Scouts troop & her school class 2 months later.

*CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO THE SECTION OF THIS GALLERY WITH THE DRAWBOTS VIDEOS, THEN COME BACK HERE TO LOOK AT THE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT*		Presentation that I shared w/ the Girl Scouts	This was a truly well behaved set of girls!
Yes, I lugged my laptop, a TV, & a bunch of extension cords to the school lunch tables. Worth it!	Bots on display	The girls picked up driving skills right away. No-weapon antweights make for a great introduction to fighting bots	A selection of the Drawbots that the girls made--the parents gathered up some fantastic decorations for this event
Our assembly line for Drawbots--parents on one side, girls on the other; the conveyor belt concept	Stockroom, vibration assembly, legs assembly, then decorations	I left the crafting up to the other parents--know your limitations!	Such an organized array of decorations
Firing up the first Drawbots of the day	Drawbots art mural coming along nicely	Prepping the Drawbots vibration assemblies: drilling through the battery holder body to later accept a long screw to secure the lid from popping off during vigorous drawing	Packing 2 million batteries into 1 million batter holders
All the vibration assemblies kitted & ready for Girl Scouts & 1st grade	The motors I got for this build (at right) had tiny weights too small to make the Drawbots adequately mobile, so my son & I fabricated a ton of brass weights (left) to press on the motors for more kick	Cut about 100 tubes & pucks from brass tubing & rod, then deburr & press fit to make heftier motor weights

DRAWBOTS BUILD PROJECT FOR PRESCHOOL [MAY 21]
4th time around! In early 2020, right before the pandemic, the preschool president said "PSSST!" & used presidential powers of persuasion to assemble a group of perky parents on a Saturday to prep the vibration assemblies. It went much faster & was much more fun than doing it alone in my garage. Props!
Then, the pandemic hit.
I held on to the parts until we decided to run a scaled-down version of the event outdoors. Extension cords galore! It went great. The kids still loved it.
Bonus: the preschool teacher took the spare parts back to school to build a small set of Drawbots with the current class.

*CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO THE SECTION OF THIS GALLERY WITH THE DRAWBOTS VIDEOS, THEN COME BACK HERE TO LOOK AT THE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT*		Picnic tables lined up make for a great assembly line	I invested in a new hot glue gun this time around (any excuse to buy a new tool..."It's for the children!")
Gluing vibration assemblies to bodies. Note the Gatorade bottles--I mentioned that these make good Drawbot bodies, but somebody brought full bottles. Oops!	Shampoo bottle? That's a new one. Why not. Let's try it!	It was a chilly May day, but that didn't deter us!	Somebody likes Christmas colors
I got much fancier w/ the decorations this year: glitter balls on wobbly springs, color-changing disco LEDs, & multiple different types of googly eyes!	We tried a new configuration, dubbed The Pig: large bottle on its side, with 4 legs, with 2 vibration motors to give it more pep	This picture has so much pink	This Drawbot would blend right in with the latest effects-heavy sci-fi blockbuster movie
Another Pig-style Drawbot--quite a cheery one	"Take me to your leader"	The concrete had some grooves & texture, so the Drawbots occasionally got caught, but they still worked great	That's a lot of silver tape--I'm looking into colorful tape for Drawbots 5
There's an age range of about 6 years in this photo--Drawbots appeal to the very young & the not-as-young-but-still-relatively-young	Look closely & you'll see extra markings in the concrete grooves, where the marker tips got caught	Extra parts made it back to the preschool for the really young kids to build their own. This is one of 2 Drawbots spin-off events where I taught others how to run a build. It's not too hard--ask me how!

BATTLEBOTS TALK & DEMOS AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CAMPOUT [JUN 19]
The local elementary school has an annual campout at the park next door. Entertainment, BBQ, movie, tents, then breakfast.
Ref John introduced Judge Jason to the event organizer.
"You can bring robots?! Great! Just tell us what you need us to set up for you!"

Bots & nuts on display for the afternoon	Even with most of the guts removed, The Disk O' Inferno is still awkwardly heavy. Automotive creeper for the win!	"Hey kids, want to get started in robots? Start small! Consider a kit for your first bot!	A dense row of cones works (relatively) well to keep a bunch of excited kids (mostly) away from (slightly) sharp bot parts
He likes to be scratched behind the ears--note the pointy spike wedgelets swapped out for blunt round fork tips for demos. Toes are safe!	Cardboard boxes didn't stand a chance	Instead of playing Where's Waldo?, play Where's Ref John?	"OK kids, form 3 lines. When it's your turn, drive the robot with the silver sticks--don't touch the other 10 switches & knobs or you'll mess up my settings!
And this is why I put double batteries in parallel in each antweight Viper, & why I've turned down the joystick limits a little: super long run time on a charge!

DRAWBOTS BUILD PROJECT FOR KINDERGARTEN [MAY 19]
3rd time around: more efficient! I found a preassembled single AA switched battery pack wired to a vibration motor. Not as peppy as the assembly with 2 AA batteries, but much less prep labor!
Efficiency is key when both kindergarten teachers ask you to get about 60 students through the Drawbots assembly line during their class overlap period.
It was a challenge, but we did it!

*CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO THE AREA OF THE GALLERY WITH THE DRAWBOTS VIDEOS, THEN COME BACK HERE TO LOOK AT THE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT*		Prototype with the smaller power supply. Not as loud, but gets the job done	I went lighter on the wire strain relief hot glue this time: just the ends, to protect the solder joints if a kindergartener yanked the wires
Laid out, ready for bonding prep: alcohol wipe + light abrasion	And several short hours later, with podcasts to help pass the time, vibration subasemblies are all prepped!	Enough vibration to power a small army of Drawbots

ROBOTICS DISPLAY AT PRESCHOOL [MAY 19]
The robots made another preschool visit. Just a little bit of play & demos this time. A preview of a forthcoming Drawbots build event!

Dr. Inferno ]|[, some antweights, & Drawbots on display

A new take on arts & crafts

Fortunately, the kids gravitated towards the friendliest & safest bots!

BATTLEBOTS TALK & DEMOS AT CUB SCOUTS PACK MEETINGS [FEB 19, JAN 20, JAN 21, APR 21]
Who loves robots? Scouts!
In February 2019, I gave a robot talk & demo at a local Cub Scouts pack meeting.
In January 2020, one of my robotics pals, who is also a Boy Scouts leader, asked me to give a long Zoom presentation double feature: interesting aerospace engineering career anecdotes, then BattleBots.
In January 2021, I gave a Zoom presentation on space robotics & BattleBots for a friend's troop. I also participated in a "Meet the Local BattleBots Builders" Zoom presentation for the same troop.
In September 2021, our Cub Scouts pack asked, "Jason, could you keep the kids occupied with robots for an hour while the parents watch an unexciting presentation, ask logistics questions, & fill out registration paperwork?" "SURE!"
(Don't fret--I'm cooking something up for the local Girl Scouts troop in early 2022!)

Cub Scouts are a great audience--excited, enthusiastic, & well-mannered. We capped off the evening by having the den leaders duke it out with one-pound antweight bots

Zoom presentation for a local scouts troop: the 1st 1/2 focused on engineering careers, & the 2nd 1/2 focused on BattleBots

Some California builders (& 1 California judge) shared storeis of their BattleBots experiences & hosted a Q&A for a Boy Scouts troop Zoom meeting

ROBOTICS DAY AT KINDERGARTEN [DEC 18]
Mechanical Engineering presentation & robot demos for the kindergarteners

I had to borrow a van & a cart to haul all the robot stuff to school	Display area: BattleBots, trophies, Drawbots, robot toys, etc.	Drawbots from years past were part of the display, a preview for a Drawbots build later in the school year	Andy Hedge lent me his antweight arena, & Suni Murata lent me 2 of his robots to add to my set
Every student got a short turn to drive a little bot	Bot toys in the kitchen area	Parents like playing with robots too	Some of our family's old Drawbots from years past
What's more fun than robots? Noisy robots!	I've seen less impressive modern art in museums	Drawbots dancing	During snack break, I drove Dr. Inferno ]\|[ around the playground.
Cover slide for my engineering/BattleBots presentation for the kindergarteners

DRAWBOTS BUILD PROJECT FOR TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN [MAY 18]
The next year, for my 2nd Drawbot project day, I took my lessons learned from the inaugural Drawbots event & led a build for *two* classes during their overlap period.
Improvements included adding a screw for better battery compartment lid retention, & moving the vibration units to the bottom of the bots for improved stability.
Plus, the teachers showed me that overturned tables make fantastic hard & smooth surfaces with integral walls!

*CLICK HERE TO JUMP TO THE AREA OF THE GALLERY WITH THE DRAWBOTS VIDEOS, THEN COME BACK HERE TO LOOK AT THE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT*		Setting up to build a whole bunch of vibration units in 1 big batch	Some battery covers popped off during the previous year's event ("solved" by last-minute tape application). This year: screws for solid cover retention!
Holes drilled & countersunk, ready for screws	CA glue (superglue) for motor attachment this year--much faster than hot glue!	All motors bonded to battery packs	This year: orient the motor for much shorter exposed wires: wire snags are less likely, & less hot glue is needed to tame the wires
Vibration assemblies fully kitted & ready	Testing the updated Drawbot configuration--success!	Prepped Drawbot bodies: washed cans & bottles, covered can sharp edges with duct tape--ready for the students	Sorry, kids--before we build robots, I'm first going to talk about an exciting career in mechanical engineering!!!
Assembly line set up, teaching the students & the parent helpers what goes into a Drawbot	Efficient & orderly assembly line. Parents had almost as much fun as the students	Teaching the students about assembly flow & how products are built	The Drawbots test lab
Oh my, are these Drawbots smooching? Scandalous!	Pipe cleaners make Drawbots more fun	Drawbots do best on hard, flat surfaces, because they will get hung up on groove & bumps	Make sure to use washable markers if you care about your floors, your countertops, your furniture, etc.
Cover slide for my engineering/BattleBots presentation for the transitional kindergarteners	2 months before the event at transitional kindergarten, I gave a similar presentation to the school's on-site child care facility

DRAWBOTS BUILD PROJECT FOR PRESCHOOL [APR 17]
One of the fun parts of sending your kids to a co-op preschool is work days, getting to know the students, teachers, & other parents. And they get to know you.
"Hey, Jason! You build robots! Can you lead a robot project for the kids?"
"SURE!"
And thus was born Drawbots: vibration motors & washable markers glued to decorated cans or bottles buzz across the floor, leaving colorful trails in their wakes.

YOUTUBE VIDEO Kindergarteners going wild with their Drawbots	YOUTUBE VIDEO Drawbots + Kindergarteners = LOUD fun!	YOUTUBE VIDEO Ollie the Drawbot takes his first steps	YOUTUBE VIDEO Drawbots can Lindy Hop!
YOUTUBE VIDEO 2 Drawbots in action	YOUTUBE VIDEO Fooling around with the vibration subassembly--very peppy without a heavy body on it!	YOUTUBE VIDEO The maiden voyage of the very first prototype Drawbot	YOUTUBE VIDEO Testing a different power source (1 vs. 2 AA batteries). Works great w/ pen caps on too!
I tested several cans & bottles to see what worked best (most active & robust). My favorite was Nyquil bottles, because their triangular shape ensured equispaced legs for outstanding stability	Get the students to gather cans, bottles, etc.	Get a whole bunch of battery packs that hold 2 AA batteries & that have on/off switches	Trim the wires & stuff in the batteries
Add some adhesive-back foam to make sure that the batteries don't rattle loose (not necessary--I omitted the foam on later revisions)	Prep the battery packs & motors for bonding: light abrasion & alcohol wipe	Hot glue gun & soldering to complete the assembly--glob on some more glue for strain relief when the wires inevitably get yanked in the line of duty	Testing the very first prototype--success!
The testing area at the preschool at the inaugural Drawbots event	Assembly line step 1: gather build materials	Assembly line step 2: duct tape the legs to the body	Assembly line step 3: hot glue the vibration assembly to the body (in later builds, I put the heavy assembly on the botom of the bot to improve stability)
Assembly line step 4: decorate!!!	More decorations	Get a bunch of kids to turn on their Drawbots at the same time: cacophony & chaos!	This is the best part--kids just love their Drawbots that they designed & helped build!

BATTLEBOTS TALK & DEMOS AT PRESCHOOLS [SEP 16]
Now as a father of 2 small kids, I shifted my focus away from competing in robotics & towards sharing robotics with my young kids, their schools, etc. I started with my son's 2 preschools.

ENGINEERING & BATTLEBOTS PRESENTATIONS & DEMOS AT PUBLIC LIBRARY [JAN 14, DEC 16]
After moving to Orange County, a nice guy whom I met at a local retro video game event turned out to work at the Orange Library. He suggested that I give a robotics talk at their STEAM series. I jumped at the opportunity. Twice. Jump! Jump!

BATTLEBOTS PRESENTATION AT FIRST ROBOTICS TEAM MEETING [DEC 07]
When I was working in Pasadena, some of my coworkers started mentoring a FIRST Robotics team at the high school down the street. I chipped in on a few evenings & also gave the team a presentation and Q&A session on BattleBots, as well as some highlights from my engineering career.

GRADE SCHOOL ROBOTICS FINALS COMPETITION [SEP 03]
The grade school repeated their robotics program the next year & came to UCSB for their competition finals again. I brought the same old robots one more time.

GRADE SCHOOL ROBOTICS FINALS COMPETITION [MAY 02]
Later in the school year, there was a finals competition in line following, sumo, & the ever popular tug o' war. I brought back Longneck & The Infernal Brick of Despair for another go at it against the students.