Paul Laurence Dunbar & Patterson High School
Lab Rats
1400 Orleans Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Telephone: 443-642-4478       Email: 1748.FIRST@gmail.com    

Web: www.team1748.org     

            The Dunbar & Patterson Robotics Team (The Lab Rats) is a small group of highly dedicated students developing engineering, programming, and marketing expertise as they build autonomous and remote-controlled robots for competition and show. 

These skilled scholars, working with volunteer mentor engineers from the Army Research Laboratory, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems and local colleges and universities, devote their evening and weekend hours to designing, building, and programming sophisticated computer controlled machinery to accomplish a wide variety of competitive and practical tasks.  Starting with small, personal kits, and working their way up to large, highly specialized team robots, these students are developing the skills that will help them shape America’s technological future for decades to come. Much of the work is grueling, as students put in long hours to design, build, and program robots to accomplish tasks such as navigating independently, sensing and responding to their environments, collecting objects, climbing stairs, lifting and shelving cans, firing projectiles, exploring and surveying terrain, and playing team sports like soccer and basketball, in school, regional, national, and international competitions. The culminating event of the year is the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, founded by Dean Kamen, inventor of the famous Segway scooter and other robotic wonders like the stair climbing wheelchair. This year’s FIRST competition was only the Lab Rats second, but the team exceeded everyone’s expectations, going all the way to the final round at the FIRST regional competition.  Competing against dozens of teams, many veterans of more than a decade, the Lab Rats’ ramp design proved a coveted asset in the final alliance selection. Of course, these competitions are only the short-term goals. While they work and play, team members are preparing for real careers in engineering, programming, design, math, science, writing, marketing, and a host of other professions that will draw on the myriad skills they are developing for the team, because there’s more to a competitive robotics team than just making robots. Teams in the FIRST competition are scored not only on their robots’ performance, but on their safety procedures, community

involvement, and promotional materials.  This year’s Lab Rats robot won a judges’ award for youth outreach. It’s all about spreading the joy and love of technology and science to the mainstream culture and getting teens on track to become the pioneers of twenty-first technological discovery. It’s fun. It’s fascinating. It’s the future today in our schools. The Dunbar Lab Rats are here to change the world. 

The Lab Rats would like to thank our sponsors: the Army Research Laboratory, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, NASA, NASA’s MD Space Grant Consortium, and Morgan State University.

We are always looking for volunteers, sponsors, and opportunities to inspire others.
www.team1748.org
1748.FIRST@gmail.com
443-642-4478 ← Ask for Mr. Totty