Medford Voc-Tech gets windfall in tools and equipment
Medford students win big time when Vecna Robotics makes $180,000 donation.
Not a lot of vocational schools can brag that their students built an autonomous vehicle, but Medford Vocational Technical kids are on the cusp of getting those bragging rights thanks to a local robotics company.
Vecna Robotics in Waltham recently donated $180,000 worth of new and used equipment to the school engineering/robotics and metal fabrication departments.
“It is a big deal for us,” said Medford Vo-Tech Principal Chad Fallon.
Robotics and Engineering instructor Sam Christy agreed. He said three teachers drove to Vecna to pick up the windfall and when they got back to the school, the robotics team was there waiting.
“They said Merry Christmas,” Christy said, with a laugh.
Among the equipment were tools, welding metal, a very nice vice, machine tools, tooling tools and much more.
What’s the big deal?
Christy said the city donated four electric vehicles to the school a few years ago. He described them as “fancy golf carts” and the students have been slowly rebuilding one. They’ve added controls for the brakes and steering so they can actually control the cart with their phone.
But Christy said what the students really needed to make the cart autonomous were liDAR sensors, which are used to detect objects and estimate distances.
“They cost $10,000 to $20,000 apiece,” he said. “It’s something we never could have purchased.”
But among the equipment that Vecna sent over were brand new liDAR sensors still in the boxes.
Christy said it will still take time to get the car up and running and fully autonomous, but when it is, don’t expect to see it tooling around downtown. He said the plan is for students to use the car to move shared items between the various shop classes.
“We have kids doing all sorts of amazing things,” he said.
Each shop at the vocational school has a board of advisors and Vecna is on the robotics board.
“They’ve been incredibly generous and supportive,” Christy said. “It’s really that connection that made this all happen.”
In an email to Christy, James Shortway, production control manager for Vecna, said they were thrilled to help.
He wrote, “Everyone at Vecna was once a young student that dreamed of being on the cutting edge of technology and your students will be the ones to advance the accomplishments of our generation.”
