Dancing with the Robots! New California Competition Promoting STEAM Education Scouts for School Supporters

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Dancing with the Robots! New California Competition Promoting STEAM Education Scouts for School Supporters

140 California schools have registered for Robotic Idol, nowseeking sponsors to aid with equipment cost

LOS ANGELES, June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

    ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS, the worldwide leader in the continually growing field of humanoid
robotics and an academic partner with the most innovative universities and schools,
encourages local organizations searching for sponsorship opportunities to consider
endorsing schools interested in competing in Robotic Idol
[http://www.roboticidol.com/Robotic_Idol_Home ], a programming competition for grades 6-12.

    (Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130610/618892 )

    In February 2013, a new extra-curricular program for California students in grades
6-12 was announced called "Robotic Idol". This program uses an advanced humanoid robotic
platform called NAO, a fully-programmable, interactive, and autonomous robot. Students
involved in the competition will program NAO to dance taking into account the physical
theories of motion, balance, and control. The purpose of Robotic Idol is to stimulate
STEAM education using physics and math concepts while programming NAO, especially among
girls, to show them that STEAM programs are within reach and guide them towards careers in
science and technology fields.

    Since its announcement, 140 schools in the state of California have shown a strong
interest in the competition. Due to budget constraints, some schools are finding it
difficult to come up with the funding to purchase the equipment required and are seeking
sponsors. Sponsors [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj82C4octwk ] not only have the ability
to provide the finances for a school to participate in this innovative robotics
competition, but they are enabling students with the tools needed to develop their skills
in STEAM education. Sponsored teams will get to keep the equipment used for Robotic Idol
and use these tools in lessons such as computer science, robotic kinematics, or using NAO
in math and physics to determine theories of motion within the school year.

    Sponsors will certainly receive recognition at the competition, and additional
high-visibility branding opportunities are possible. Sponsors are encouraged to find
creative ways to fund their participation in the Robotic Idol competition. Robert Barboza,
founder of Kids Talk Radio, is creating a summer camp program for students involved in his
robotics club. The three week summer camp provides intensive programming workshops in
association with NAO. The top five performing students of the summer camp will form the
team designed to compete in Robotic Idol. The fees and donations associated with the
summer camp will be used to cover the cost of the Robotic Idol special package.

    "At Kids Talk Radio, we created a Backpack Robotics afterschool and summer camp
program focused on Robotics and Computer Science using NAO. By offering students a chance
to use a humanoid robot they have become more interested and excited to learn STEAM and
now all of them want to participate in the Robotic Idol Competition. The summer camp
registration process is underway and we hope to sell out by July. Our goal is to purchase
another Robotic Idol package to have two teams of students to represent the city of Long
Beach, CA at the competition" says Bob Barboza, Founder of Kids Talk Radio.

    Sponsors of Robotic Idol [http://youtu.be/Fj82C4octwk ] will be leading the way in
STEAM education. The benefits of becoming a sponsor are not only seen throughout the
country through various marketing initiatives, but felt by the participants of the
competition. Organizations interested in learning how they can sponsor a local school in
Robotic Idol can contact Cedric Vaudel at cvaudel@aldebaran-robotics.com for more
information.

    To learn more about Robotic Idol, visit http://www.roboticidol.com.

    About Aldebaran Robotics

    Founded in 2005 by Bruno Maisonnier and now established in France, the US and China,
ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS designs, produces and sells humanoid robots in order to contribute to
the betterment of humankind. There are currently over 3,500 NAO robots operating in
schools and universities in over 70 countries worldwide for education and research.
ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS has a team of 300 people, 40% of whom are engineers and doctors,
involved in developing and producing its robots.

    For further information about ALDEBARAN ROBOTICS, please go to:
http://www.aldebaran-robotics.com

    Media Inquiries to:

    Mirella DE ROSSI

    mderossi@aldebaran-robotics.com/ +1(949)330-7293

    Oana DORITA

    odorita@aldebaran-robotics.com / +33-1-81-72-02-31

    Photo:
    http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130610/618892

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130610/618892
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Aldebaran Robotics

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