The Forsyth Alliance, a team of high school students sponsored by AutomationDirect that participates in the FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, is working with an Alpharetta, Georgia Segway distributor to develop a companion product to the Segway, the two-wheeled automated people mover created by Dean Kamen (also founder of the FIRST organization). The new product, conceived by Electric Avenue owner Scott Holloway, is a wagon-like vehicle capable of transporting intermediately heavy loads while automatically following behind a Segway. The students are using the knowledge they gained from designing robots in the FIRST Robotics Competition to create a prototype for Electric Avenue. Their prototype has been dubbed the “Otto-Pallet” in honor of their rookie year robot, Otto Mation, who sported the green smiley face mascot of AutomationDirect. For more information and updates on the Forsyth Alliance and their activities, visit:
www.forsythalliance.com.
Originally Published: Dec. 1, 2007