Students controlling, programming robotic arms at Barren County Innovation Zone

Jason Fauber was wearing protective glasses as he watched a robotic arm create a laser-engraved design on a piece of cardboard. The senior at Barren County High School was using a computer to program the DOBOT Magician on Wednesday morning at the Barren County Innovation Zone.CRP Robotics

After creating a design to engrave onto his leather wallet, Fauber wanted to test his measurements and calculations on a piece of cardboard first — he found that his design was bigger than he had wanted, so he made adjustments and ran another test before making the permanent mark on his wallet.

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to do this,” Fauber said with a laugh, while holding the finished product. “As a high schooler, I think it’s pretty cool.”He said the most challenging part about using the laser engraver function of the robotic arm is “focusing it.”

“You have to focus the laser to make sure it’s heating up correctly,” Fauber said, later adding that he was learning how to import images into the computer program that he was using to create the designs.

“I like learning,” he said. “I want to be able to learn everything. I want to be able to have everything down to a T. If somebody has a question, I want to be able to answer it.At another table, Glasgow High School senior Spencer Applegate was holding a remote control that looked similar to a video game controller. He was using it to pick up an object with a robotic arm.

Applegate said while it’s neat to program robots, it’s also nice to have the ability to control them in realtime with a remote.GHS senior Jasmine Smith was using a computer to control a robotic arm. She was experimenting with its suction cup function.“I’m using the suction cup to pick up little items — like this little box,” she said. “And moving it to another point on the table.”