Members of the FIRST Robotics team, Team 302, will head to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on April 20 to pit their robot against those from 300 teams from around the world.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a multinational non-profit organization that seeks to transform culture, while making science, math, engineering and technology as cool for kids as other activities, like sports, are today.
The program was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway Human Transporter. Kamen is also the one who invents the game that the robots must perform in FIRST competition every year.
This year’s team from Lake Orion High School has 23 students working on two robots, one that is used for practice at the school, and one that is taken to competitions.
They began working on it in January and have already taken it to three regional competitions, placing in the top eight in all three.
LOHS? robotics team has a corporate sponsorship with DaimlerChrysler, who pay for nearly everything and send three mentors to work with the kids.
The team also works with teacher advisors, Scott Zmija and Rhonda Oldford from LOHS, and parent mentors John Tucker and Martin Griffith.
The team meets every other day to work on the robot, and head to Georgia for the nationals to end the season.
‘We design it, build it and do all the business,? said Justin Tucker, a member of this year’s team.
The game the robots must perform in competition changes every year, and Tucker said this year’s resembles a ‘huge game of tic tac toe.?
‘We’re known as kind of the powerhouse,? he said of the team’s robot. ‘No robot has been able to push us around.?
The team builds everything themselves, including transmission, electrical, frames and a compressor. Tucker said a lot of teams work with kit parts.
‘We met four or five times before we started building,? he said.
‘We have six weeks to build the robot.?
The team is also allotted a certain amount of time to tweak and change this as they see fit after competitions.
Certain rules must be followed while building the robot, such as height and weight restrictions.
‘It can’t weigh more than 120 pounds,? said Tucker.
‘We won the Engineering Inspiration Award for our transmissions, that’s the second highest award you can get. The highest is the Chairman’s Award.?
The team is also working with a program called 3ds Max, donated by DaimlerChrysler, to create an impressive software presentation for their team.
‘That program costs about $4,000,? Tucker said.
For more information on FIRST Robotics, visit www.usfirst.org.