Everett, Wash. Published: Thursday, April 10, 2008
Teens explore robotics
Team touts technological awareness with fancy Lego blocks
By Justin Arnold Herald Writer
SNOHOMISH -- The Gothic Lawn Gnomes isn't the kind of name ordinarily attributed to a teen robotics team, especially with a member over 6 feet tall.
Then again, this team is anything but ordinary.
The Gothic Lawn Gnomes is made up of eight boys and one girl from Snohomish and King counties. As part of their yearly competitions, members take on various service projects and volunteer to raise awareness of research projects to the public. The team has even volunteered to sponsor foreign teams, supplying them with equipment such as a laptop and robots.
For 13-year-old Alaric Sawade, it was love at first byte.
"I've always been interested in gadgets," Alaric said. "One of my friends told me about the team, about the robots and the projects."
That was two years ago. Now Alaric is the lead programmer on Robot A, one of three robots the teens work with.
The team regularly participates in volunteer opportunities to raise awareness of the team and their yearly high-tech research projects. Last year's research project concerned the applications of nanotechnology.
This year? Just plasma technology.
"We're talking to people about raising awareness of new technology," Zach Lovett, 14, said. "We'd like to see municipal waste as a renewable energy source through plasma technology."
Team members regularly give up their time to visit different groups, events and lectures to talk about their research project and its applications for a better environment.
Recently, Alaric attended a "2 Percent Solution" event where he was able to ask Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon about plasma gasification and conversion of municipal waste.
Alaric's mother, Vickie, thought the questions surprised Reardon.
"It was interesting to see his reaction," Vickie Sawade said. "In the end we got to talk with some people at public works."
Vickie Sawade is a proud Gothic Lawn Gnome parent and is the team treasurer.
"Their project has been quite interesting as a parent. It's a learning experience for my son and for myself," she said.
While the team is relatively new, in the two years since its inception they placed first in the 2006 Washington State First Lego League in Redmond.
It was there that they learned about the Kite Runners, a robotics team in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Last year Gothic Lawn Gnomes volunteered to adopt the Kite Runners.
"We asked about them at the competition and the event organizers put us in touch," Zach said. "When we finally got in touch with the Kite Runners they asked if we could help."
And help they did. The Gnomes provided them with programming and robotics know-how as well as an older RCX robotics kit and two Lego Mindstorm NXT's.
"Each kit cost more than $230, but in Afghanistan it would have cost roughly $14,000," Zach said.
Forget the Legos you played with as a kid. The high-tech robotic and computer components look more like something out of "I, Robot" than from a toy box.
The Gnomes also sent the Kite Runners a laptop to help program the robot after theirs was stolen.
Next week, the Gothic Lawn Gnomes travel to Atlanta for the First Lego League World Festival and Championship. They will attend, representing themselves and the Kite Runners.
"We will be there for them in spirit," Alaric said. "We're part of the same team."
The Gothic Lawn Gnomes have yet to program a robot to do their most important task: homework.
Reporter Justin Arnold: 425-339-3432 or jarnold@heraldnet.com.
Learn more
For more information on the Gothic Lawn Gnomes, visit www.gothiclawngnomes.org or call 206-888-6195.
