April 2008 — News
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Robots Rock at California High School
Robotics Competitions
The expense really heats up when the students start participating in robotics competitions. As Lam explained, "There's the Junior First Lego League, then the First Lego League, then the First Tech Competition and the First Robotics Competition." The Lego leagues are contests for kids from ages 6 to 14. The others are specifically for high school ages. At each stage, the entry fees get higher, and the equipment used gets pricier.
Sponsored by US FIRST ("Foundation for the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology"), a non-profit organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, the robotics contests involve nearly 130,000 students from 37 countries.
In the First Robotics Competition, groups of 10 to 20 kids have six weeks to build a robot weighing up to 120 pounds from a common set of parts that will solve a common problem. Each year the problem changes and even though each team receives the same kit of parts, "almost every single robot is different from every other one," said Lam.
Teams are formed in the fall; the kits are made available in January; and 41 regional competitions take place in March and April, typically in university arenas. The winning team from each region heads to Atlanta for the championship event, which ends the season. "Then it starts all over again," said Lam.
The 2008 championship begins today (April 17) and runs through Saturday, April 19.
The challenge isn't just building a robot. In that six-week period the students have to "organize themselves," said Lam. "They have to figure out who's in charge, who does electronics, pneumatics, mechanical, who does the programming, who builds the Web site."
Last year's timed challenge, titled "Rack 'n' Roll," required robots to hang inflated tubes on pegs laid out in rows and columns on a 10-foot-high center rack, program a robotic vision system to navigate the robot, and lift other robots more than four feet off the ground. About 32,500 high school students participated in 1,300 teams at the regional level.
From the 2007 Rack 'n' Roll challenge
The registration fee for that contest was $6,000. On top of that, "Generally speaking," said Lam, "they'll go out and buy more parts." Subsequent competitions are slightly less expensive since the parts are already purchased.
