SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – The Silicon Valley Ice Skating Association recently hosted its third "Robots on Ice" event in February, meant to push the boundaries of testing and accessibility of robotics.
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Sarah Feldman, CEO of Silicon Valley Ice Skating Association and Director of Analytics in Tech, told KCBS Radio over 150 people attended from ages four to 94.
"The entire point of the event is really to push what technology can do in a new and unfamiliar surface at an ice rink, so Robots on Ice is all about inspiring folks of all ages to really push their robotics abilities," she said.
Robots on Ice works to combine the love of ice skating with Silicon Valley's roots in technology, bringing a new level to the sport and challenging engineers with a slippery surface.
"In some cases, the engineers that we work with are using all sorts of algorithms that relate actually to roller skating and so there's a lot of that type of dynamic, you're just on the ice," Feldman explained. "The surface is slippery, it's unpredictable, sometimes there are marks on the ice from earlier performances, so the robotics has to be incredibly dynamic to make sure they are not just slipping and falling."
The event was deemed a success, especially in motivating the next generation. "Everyone walked away inspired with big smiles on their faces. We even got emails afterwards that kids were opening up their robotics kits as soon as they got home, so we're just so ecstatic to hear that the event was so inspirational," Feldman said.
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