The social humanoid robot’s eyes light up to show when she is responsive to dialogue, a screen on her body can be programmed to display images to match the content of a conversation. An array of 40 preset gestures — ranging from air guitar to referee signaling — make Pepper come to life.
Pepper, who lives at the Carroll County Public Library system’s Westminster branch at 50 E. Main St., is capable of customizable interactions and gestures through coding, using Choregraphe, a coding language similar to Python.
She’s just one example of the many technologically advanced opportunities that exist in Carroll County for anyone interested in furthering their knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and math, also known as STEM.
Amanda Krumrine, who has served as the makerspace supervisor at Exploration Commons for about a year, and has taught coding classes using Pepper, said she hopes the space will serve as a resource to young people interested in pursuing a career in STEM.
“[We want] to serve young people in that middle and high school age range and get them in here to utilize these resources and take these classes and maybe explore a potential future career path,” she said. “Maybe it’s something they didn’t have access to before in their school or outside of here, so coming in might spark an interest, which might lead to a career.”
Opening as a part of the Carroll County Public Library Westminster branch in 2021, Exploration Commons provides the community with a space to design and innovate artistic visions.
Consisting of meeting rooms, a teaching space and a makerspace filled with 3D printers, a laser cutter, podcasting equipment, resin printers, sewing machines, virtual reality and more, the 14,000 square-foot space is open to anyone 8 years or older.
The space is designed to create engaging experiences in a collaborative environment for individuals to achieve professional, educational and personal goals.
Jon Jopse, who has served as an experience design specialist at Exploration Commons for three years, said the space offers programs and services for a range of ages.
“Our goal is to provide access to technology and the knowledge to utilize that technology,” he said. “That could be somebody who’s in middle school or high school who’s interested in STEM or a career in programming, industrial machining or robotics, or it could be somebody who’s retired who’s looking to keep their skills fresh and learn something new.”
Aside from the resources at Exploration Commons, the county is host to a bounty of resources for residents to learn skills such as coding, cybersecurity, game development, robotics and more.
MID-ATLANTIC GIGABIT INNOVATION COLLABORATORY
Irene Shijo, 17, of Westminster, was looking for opportunities to prepare her for a career in STEM, and found some amazing ones in her own backyard at the Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory, or MAGIC.
The Westminster-based nonprofit has helped the high school student prepare for her future career in computer science via an internship and programs focused on coding and robotics, which she has been involved in since January.
Shijo says the skills she learned at MAGIC will be put to use this fall when she enters the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a freshman studying computer science.
“MAGIC helps connect students to job opportunities and helps develop their career skills,” she said. “Without internships and without the collaboration of these companies, a lot of students are missing those opportunities and are going into college not as prepared as they would be with opportunities such as [MAGIC].”
Established in 2016 by the Common Council of Westminster, MAGIC creates a space for entrepreneurship and technology innovation to thrive.
MAGIC focuses on cultivating innovation, education and incubation with the mission of building a tech ecosystem that creates and nurtures talent, entrepreneurship and tech businesses, according to its website. The nonprofit provides programs and resources for high school and college students as well as workforce development training for adults in the tech sector.
Graham Dodge, who has served as executive director of MAGIC for four years, said its programs and projects are geared toward exposing students to technologies at the beginner level and providing them with skills they can develop in the future.
“Our sweet spot is to teach technologies where there are job opportunities and to put a spotlight on that career path for our students,” he said.
One of the unique projects that MAGIC is developing, Dodge said, is the Autonomous Corridor project, to help solve current public transportation issues and usher the community into the future using vehicles for public transit that are capable of sensing their environments and operating without human involvement.
As part of the project, a MAGIC student intern conducted a survey of residents that showed a disconnect between current public transportation options and the needs of county residents, such as access to work, services and social resources. The project aims to resolve issues with transportation and parking infrastructure gaps in Westminster that limit connectivity.
“For the Autonomous Corridor project we are building a digital twin of the City of Westminster that will allow other companies to deploy autonomous robotics technologies, whether it’s delivery bots or autonomous shuttle systems, all leveraging the connectivity that we have in our infrastructure,” Dodge said.
As part of the project both McDaniel College and Carroll Community College have committed to developing workforce training, undergraduate and graduate programs for careers that the technology will create. MAGIC intends to collaborate with the colleges in the Stewards for Autonomous Vehicles Internship program, which it envisions as a highly competitive, paid internship for students interested in the autonomous industry.
Ultimately, the project hopes to reverse the flow of workers commuting outside Westminster for jobs and attract new businesses that want to develop technologies within the city and county.
During a 2021 ribbon-cutting event for the first phase of the project, Westminster Mayor Mona Becker said, “We are embracing this technology at a rate that you don’t find in other parts of the United States. I think that really sets us apart especially on our quest to become more economically and technologically savvy in this region. It’s really going to showcase what we can bring to the future.”
Phase one involves scanning of several routes in Westminster by city-based Dynamic Dimensions Technologies, to train autonomous shuttles on the city’s specific topography, all-weather road conditions, and traffic patterns. Virtual reality simulation software will be used to create the autonomous corridor’s 3D environment.
In April, MAGIC celebrated the opening of the Autonomous Robotics Innovation Center on Main Street in downtown Westminster, a 5,600-foot space at the former site of Kipp’s Automotive service center. Dodge said the new building is perfect for implementing autonomous vehicle innovation programs that require more space for tinkering.
The center will serve as an educational component for the next phase of MAGIC’s autonomous corridor project, Dodge said. In MAGIC’s Ghost Karts program, students will collaborate in designing two autonomous electric go-karts to be be test raced on closed streets in Westminster.
The center is designed to engage students from kindergarten to college, with opportunities for apprenticeships and developing career skills, Dodge said. He added that he looks forward to welcoming the Westminster community into the space for events.
“We’re sort of betting on an autonomous future and creating academic interdependency between our schools and our industry experts and employers here in this region,” Dodge said. “We hope that through all these efforts, Carroll County and Westminster emerge as winners in the future of autonomous economic development.”
CARROLL TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION COUNCIL
The Carroll Technology and Innovation Council aims to be a one-stop shop for STEM opportunities in the county, providing a space for anyone interested in STEM to find resources and like-minded peers.
The council supports STEM activities within Carroll County Public Schools and at Carroll Community College, contributes to scholarships for students and sponsorships for robotics clubs, among other initiatives.
Conceived in 2001 by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, the council was formed to assist businesses and the community with their technology needs. As the council matured, it became an independent and nonprofit organization in 2004.
Since its conception, its focus has been on building relationships among member organizations to facilitate business connections in the county. Members include businesses focused on cybersecurity, IT services, web development, health care and education, as well as community and governmental organizations.
The council offers programs such as TechKids and TechWorks, through which it has donated more than 3,000 new and refurbished computers to county nonprofits, youths and adults. Computer distributions became essential during pandemic shutdowns in 2020 and 2021.
“We were integral during the pandemic,” said Chris Abell, the council’s executive director. “We provided students with laptops, we provided students with Internet connection, we have helped local businesses get started and transition and we’ve just generally tried to increase the awareness around tech in rural areas in Carroll County and Maryland.”
Abell said the organization focuses on “digital inclusion,” specifically offering programs to provide equal access to technology. One such initiative is the Veteran Transition to Technology program, which seeks to address challenges that many veterans face when seeking work and support. The council provides veterans with computer hardware and training to help them navigate an increasingly digital world.
Abell said the council plans to broaden its services in the future.
“Our biggest plan for the future is the continued expansion and bringing out programs to other rural areas in Maryland,” he said. “Some of these programs have been sped up within the last year or so and they’ve gained some traction in the areas that we do host them, so we want to continue to create partnerships in different counties to bring this programming and education to other areas.”
For more information on MAGIC, CTIC or Exploration Commons, visit magicinc.org, carrolltechcouncil.org or explorationcommons.carr.org.
Carroll County Times reporter Thomas Goodwin Smith contributed to this report.
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