Scouts ages 11 through 17 working toward their Digital Technology and Engineering Merit Badges, explored the possibilities of spatial computing, AI and immersive communication as part of an ongoing initiative connected to the Math, Science & Technology Expo held the previous weekend at UMass Lowell, themed “Exploring Careers Through Merit Badges.” The event was organized by the West Wind District of the Spirit of Adventure Council.
“These Scouts are on a path to become engineers and technology leaders. They must be prepared to use the tools of the future including AI,” said Elmer Lyons, Chelmsford Troop 75 Scoutmaster. “Their visit to Geminai opened their minds to applications that can benefit all of us.”
Geminai, which brought this technology invented by industry leader Proto to the region to drive innovation across healthcare, education, enterprise, retail, sports, arts, and entertainment, gave the Scouts a chance to experience the platform for themselves. They “beamed” live from the studio to the life-sized Luma device, recorded content, and explored multilanguage AI-powered language translation.
The Scouts were greeted by an AI-generated persona of Proto founder David Nussbaum, who delivered a custom message recognizing their visit and highlighting the exciting potential of holograms for developing scouting skills, showcasing badge work, and even presenting Eagle Scout projects. Local Geminai-produced content included holograms of State Rep. Simon Cataldo, 6th Middlesex Regiment Minuteman Captain John Greenwood, and Chelmsford’s Nibi the Beaver.
Beyond the demos, the Scouts were also introduced to potential careers in immersive technology—from software development and systems engineering to tech support, content creation, sales, and marketing.
Scout Nolan Casey, 13, from Troop 81 in Chelmsford said, “At the Expo, for the engineering badge we got to make foam airplanes, a paper bridge and communicate with each other using 1s and 0s. In digital technology, we learned how AI has evolved over time. It was really exciting to learn on the field trip how holograms could be used in hospitals, museums, or even in restaurants and it was fun to try the technology for ourselves.”
The troops participating hailed from Chelmsford (Troops 81 and 75), Westford (Troops 195 and 437), Lexington (Troop 160), Lynnfield (Troop 48), Charlton (Troop 338), Reading (Troop 702), and Atkinson, NH (Troop 9).
