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This famous photograph of the Mars Rover Curiosity (Courtesy of NASA/JPL CalTech) is a fine example of integrating optics & photonics into an extreme robotic system.

OptoBotics is a method of teaching developed by Optics Institute of Southern California (OISC) founder Donn Silberman.  

The OISC is an Optics Education Outreach  partner of the Optical Society of Southern California.

 

See a short slide set about our OptoBotics Teaching Methods and Tools here.

 

See a video presentation of some OptoBotics students at Mathobotix

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This is "Sparky"; a new robot designed and built by Cory Hague, an Irvine Valley College Photonics Technology student.  See a short video here of Sparky interacting with kids.

 

And a new video here showing Sparky's features.

 

 

At this time we are primarily accepting donations for our OptoBotics programs and in particular "Sparky" .

 

We intend to donate Sparky to our friends at Vital Link Orange County.  They will use Sparky as part of their on-going Career Exploration Programs where they take exhibits to local middle and high schools for Career Exploration Days.

This website is now for archival and educational purposes only.  We are no longer actively using the methods described below.

 

OptoBotics are our methods of teaching people about optics & photonics and how they are used in everyday life, science, education and industry.

 

After many years of bringing optics & photonics to students and the general public, it became clear we were missing a key demographic; High School Students.  So this website and the associated OptoBotics materials, presentations, workshops, kits, books, activity guides, events are our next stop on our journey to bring the fascinating world of optics & photonics to more people around the globe.

 

 

A  free Webinar (from December 2012) provided by UC Irvine Extension Optical Engineering

OPTOBOTICS - Precision Motion for the OpticsAge - A look around the Martian Surface  

click to view the  Webinar on YouTube

 

This presentation is highly technical and aimed at professional engineers.  It is about 1 hour in length and will take about 1 minute to load.  Please contact us if you have any questions.

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