Local robotics organization prepares youth for careers in STEM

Jeff Elkins, The Norman Transcript, Okla.
Updated ·4 min read

Apr. 16—An organization providing educational robotics programming with headquarters in Norman has developed global reach.

The KISS Institute for Practical Robotics nonprofit was founded in 1994 with the purpose of developing autonomous robotic-based technology for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education programs, according to its website.

Many robotics competitions use remote-controlled robots, but Steve Goodgame, the institute's executive director, said autonomy is the future.

Through their game Botball, students from elementary to high school compete in team-based challenges, designing, building and programming a robot to execute tasks.

Goodgame said Botball reaches around 15,000 kids, and Junior Botball is played by around 100,000 elementary students worldwide each year.

Junior Botball is oftentimes a child's first introduction into programming, and Goodgame said it has more of an education focus.

Goodgame was in Milpitas, California, last week for a competition at an area elementary school, where he said 700 students in grades two through five "were banging out real code and running autonomous robots."

The program is overseen by a small team in an office on Lindsey Street, with the exception of two employees who work remotely and event volunteers scattered across the country.

Since the organization's founding in 1994, Botball has helped youth around the world develop coding skills, specifically in C, C++, Block and Python programming languages.

Their Virtual Botball Academy program is a 3D simulator the institute developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure learning didn't stop as many students shifted to online school.

Goodgame said Botball is played by kids in Canada, Brazil, Sudan, Libya, Qatar, India, China, New Zealand and Australia.

Botball is played by Norman High School, Irving Middle School, and all of the local elementary schools participate in the Junior Botball program.

Scott Martin, president and CEO of the Norman Chamber of Commerce, said three of his children have learned to code in Norman Public Schools through Botball.

Daughter Gentry, a fourth-grader at Truman Elementary, competed in a local tournament at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds on April 1.

Martin said he largely attributes his children's math skills to Botball.

"You can see the gears turning in their heads," he said. "You can see the joy they experience when they succeed and overcome the challenge that's in front of them."

Martin said participants learn how to work collaboratively, and it's fun to see young kids come together to program the robots on their laptops.

When he thinks about tomorrow's workforce, Martin said being able to problem solve and work as a team are critical skills.

"We're lucky to be home to this international organization that a lot of people don't know about," he said. "As a parent, I'm thrilled that Norman Public Schools makes this opportunity available to our students."

When he thinks about tomorrow's workforce, Martin said being able to problem solve and work as a team are critical skills.

Erin Harrington began programming as a junior in high school. While studying at the University of Oklahoma as a computer engineering major, she worked at the KISS Institute as a lab technician.

Harrington graduated in May, and now she's a full time system engineer for the institute.

"A lot of this is hands-on knowledge I probably wouldn't have gotten in college on my own," she said. "You really get to see how students can take this and move on to not just programming, but (any job).

"If you only have one controller for 15 kids, you have to learn how to share and work as a team."

According to a survey conducted by the institute surveying Botball participants, 85% of respondents say their programming skills improve after participating, and about 61% would consider a STEM career.

"If you want to think about it career-wise, 73% of all projected jobs in STEM in the next 10 years are computer science, and if that's where the jobs are, we need to prepare students to be ready," Goodgame said. "We have investigator contractors under (the institute) that work at NASA, and the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science."

Goodgame said the institute has multiple innovative grant proposals ongoing, including one for botany on the moon and another for robots, also on the moon.

"We have a direct tie to NASA and real research," he said. "No one else is doing autonomy. Everybody else is doing remote control, but that's not where it's at."

Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at jelkins@normantranscript.com or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.