Technological savvy part of senior's drive to help others

ST. CHARLES ? Brian Ricketts had no trouble falling in love with robots.

After all, as he tells it, robotics have become an essential part of his life.

?There aren?t many people that can say they have a microprocessor in their leg,? Ricketts said, with a sly grin.

For as long as he can remember, Ricketts, a graduating senior at St. Charles North High School, has been fascinated by computers, the technological devices they power and the way they run.

At the age of 7 or 9, he began programming computers.

And those speaking with the young man or his mother, Julie Ricketts, of St. Charles, easily could be overwhelmed by the tales they might share of the tinkering Brian has done with household appliances and devices.

His mother noted, for instance, that his favorite toy when he was 2 years old was a surge suppressor.

Lately, those urges have turned to video games, which Brian creates himself, and gaming systems, which he might take apart and rewrite some code to make it do things it otherwise could not.

He reprogrammed a Microsoft Xbox Kinect system to allow users to ?fly? a virtual aircraft by moving their hands or speaking commands.

?It?s how I like to spend my free time,? Ricketts said.

So when the opportunity arose for Ricketts to join the competitive robotics team, PWNAGE Team 2949, sponsored by St. Charles manufacturer Genesis Automation, he did not think on the decision too long.

?I used to be in the Boy Scouts, and I tried piano lessons,? said Ricketts. ?But then I found robotics. And I thought, ?This is where I belong.??

Ricketts joined the team in his senior year, becoming one of the later members of a group that is interested and skilled in engineering, computer programming and other disciplines related to robotics.

The team takes its robots to regional competitions against those designed by other high school teams in task-based contests.

Teams were judged this year on their robots? abilities to move about a playing court, pick up foam basketballs and throw them through small basketball hoops.

Ricketts helped program the robot and said he loved every minute of the work and the competition.

Marsha Brown, technology and engineering instructor at St. Charles North, said Ricketts? infatuation with robotics should not be a surprise to anyone.

?There are things I?m learning from him,? Brown said. ?With the programming, and the things he?s able to do, it?s just nuts sometimes.?

In a class project earlier this year, students were asked to create a machine that could accurately launch ping-pong balls.

Ricketts? team created an accurate launcher. But then they went further, making their machine mobile.

?It did shock me when it moved around the room, because no one had told me,? Brown said.

Ricketts still laughs about that project.

?You should have seen the look on her face,? he said, chuckling.

Brown said Ricketts? penchant for exceeding expectations, along with his knowledge and ability, is what sets him apart.

?He is just so knowledgable about these things,? Brown said. ?So passionate and so driven.?

Ricketts, however, demonstrated his drive in more than just robotics projects or at-home tinkering.

At age 6, he was diagnosed with cancer in his left leg. Despite treatment, the cancer spread to his knee. Ultimately, doctors amputated his leg at the thigh.

Not until about two years ago, after a fight that lasted almost a decade, did doctors declare the cancer in remission.

In the years since the amputation, Ricketts learned to walk with a prosthesis, including a recent model that includes technology to help prevent him from falling.

?So I guess you can say I have experience with a robot on my knee,? he said with a grin.

Ricketts enrolled at DePaul University and will attend classes in the fall. He will major in computer science.

He said he has not decided yet how he wants to use his technological abilities, although he did mention a fascination with virtual reality and autonomous automobiles. And he wasn?t averse to defense applications, he said.

?That would be kind of cool, maybe working with drones,? Ricketts said.

No matter what he does, Ricketts said he wants his work to focus on one thing:

?I want to make technologies to make people?s lives easier. It?s so important to me.?

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