As we navigate the world dominated by technology, what comes next is a mystery to many. To Mr. Erickson of Bloomington High School South, the future is robotics. “The industry is moving towards [robots], our lives are moving towards them, everything is becoming automated.”

Erickson, a graduate of IU, found his professional career as an engineer in Houston, Texas in the 1970s, working on airplanes, rockets, cars, gliders and eventually moving on to robots. After mastering his field over the course of 35 years, he began teaching Industrial Robotics in his local school district at a high school. Whilst there, he managed to spread robotics programs throughout the entirety of their district, and now hopes to spark that same passion for building in the students of Bloomington South.

Next year will be the first year that a Robotics class will be offered at BHSS. Erickson believes this class will serve a multitude of purposes to the students at South, primarily by opening doorways to the massive possibilities that robotics can create. “With Robotics, you can earn a lesser degree, and still find a great deal of success.” says Erickson. However, this class is not exclusive to those who wish to pursue robotics professionally; in fact, quite the opposite. He encourages all with even a moderate interest to consider taking the course.

“It’s always good to explore new things, in the same way that I took home economics and cooking. It’s an elective, it’s designed to be fun. We’ll be building sea, aerial, and land robots, learning mechanics and discovering how that stuff ties together.” said Erickson.

It will be very interesting to see how the new robotics class works out next year and the impact it has on South in the near future!