UI Extension Launching AgRobotics

A new University of Idaho Extension 4-H Youth Development program takes precision agriculture to new heights with robots designed, built and programmed by child engineers.

Even the sky isn’t the limit for the young engineers who will compete in the forthcoming AgRobotics program. One AgRobotics scenario, called Lunar Base Harvest, entails delivering farming inputs and testing soils with remote-controlled robots on the surface of the moon.

Program organizers Matt Fisher, a UI Extension educator specializing in agriculture and STEM, and Robin Baumgartner, 4-H science programs coordinator, are recruiting Idaho counties interested in participating. About 20 Idaho counties received LEGO robotics kits last year with federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, and the new AgRobotics program could provide counties a good use for those kits. Additional ARPA funding is currently available for counties that would like kits to start or expand upon a LEGO robotics program.

AgRobotics aims to teach children STEM skills while also demonstrating the important roles science and technology play in food production.

“We thought this would be great for Idaho because Idaho it's so agriculture based,” Fisher said. “This would be a way to get those kids who don’t normally show animals or go the traditional route to learn about agriculture, too.”

UI Extension often field requests to teach the fundamentals of LEGO robotics at community day camps, events and after-school programs. Idaho 4-H youth have also participated in the FIRST LEGO League robotics challenge. AgRobotics, however, is Idaho’s first robotics program sponsored and branded by Extension.

AgRobotics was created by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Baumgartner and Teresa Balderrama, an associate Extension educator specializing in 4-H youth development in Kootenai County, discovered the program when Texas 4-H staff presented it at a professional conference. They liked the Texas program as an option to involve Idaho youth in a competition that would be less intensive and time demanding than FIRST LEGO League.

“We wanted to bring additional robotics opportunities to the state,” Baumgartner said. “We were both like, ‘Ok, this is what we’ve been looking for.’”

Initially, the program will be offered on a pilot basis, with counties coming up with their own practice schedules and hosting their own competitions for teams of up to four participants. Eventually, the program could grow to pit counties against each other in state or regional competitions.

Teams will build their own robots, using LEGO Education SPIKE kits. Some robots may resemble a tractor or other actual farm machines, while others may be more unique — with automated implements on both ends, for example. Team members will design and program their robots to perform specified tasks, such as docking, delivering farming modules and placing fertilizer inside of modules. Teams will be awarded points based on how well their robots perform and how many tasks they complete within a specified timeframe. More complicated tasks receive more points. Tasks are performed on mats with different themes, such as farming on the moon.

AgRobotics also contributes to positive youth development, part of the 4-H Thriving Model. Each team decides which tasks are most important, working collaboratively to ensure success. Teams must also be prepared to make the necessary modifications to their robots during competitions to complete certain surprise challenges.

“One of the things I love about this is it’s all about the kids’ imagination,” Baumgartner said.

The following counties are upgrading their LEGO kits and have expressed interest in AgRobotics: Bannock, Benewah, Butte, Camas, Cassia, Franklin, Gem, Boise, Jefferson, Latah, Lewis, Lincoln, Power and Washington. UI Extension also plans to offer the new program at a Kootenai County STEM camp in July and at a conference planned for October. For more information, contact Matt Fisher at 208-736-3627.

Published in Catching Up with CALS