Milton Scout among first dozen to receive new robotics merit badge

By Sarah Favot, Town Correspondent

A Milton Eagle Scout was presented one of the first Boy Scouts robotics merit badges on Saturday at the Museum of Science in Boston.

Robert Hudson was one of 12 Boy Scouts presented the badge at 3:30 p.m. by iRobot’s SUGV (Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle) robot. The presentation was part of National Robotics Week activities at the museum.

Hudson, a senior at North Quincy High School, has a passion for robotics. He is part of his high school’s robotics team and has competed in eight robotics competitions. Recently, his team won a creative design award sponsored by Xerox, he said.

Hudson said that he thinks the Boy Scouts robotics badge is a great way for Boy Scouts to have the opportunity to be involved in robotics.

“A lot of kids don’t have the chance to learn about robotics, and getting started at a younger and earlier age, especially with advances in technology, is something that they should do,” said Hudson, 17.

He also said that robotics is a great way to get exposure to the "STEM" fields, which are science, technology, engineering, and math.

Hudson said he has accepted an offer of admission in the fall to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell for a spot in the mechanical engineering program with a minor in robotics. Massachusetts is one of the first in the country to offer a degree concentration in robotics, according to a UMass-Lowell press release.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory and iRobot developed the new Boy Scout badge program.

Hudson said one of the requirements for the badge is to build a robot and demonstrate it. He and the other Boy Scouts presented their robots at the Museum of Science.

The goal of National Robotics Week is to increase public awareness of the growing importance of “robo-technology” and the tremendous economic, social, and cultural impact that it will have on the future of how people will live, work, and play worldwide, according to a press release.

Check out a clip of Hudson on NECN Friday morning here.

Sarah Favot can be reached at sarah.yourtown@gmail.com.