Students gear up for worldwide robotics competition in Las Vegas

By Jennifer Clampet (USAG Wiesbaden)January 22, 2010

Students gear up for worldwide robotics competition in Las Vegas
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WIESBADEN, Germany - Sure building a robot is cool. But building a future is even better.

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Imagine being 17-years-old and knowing how to assemble a soccer ball-kicking robot from a box of loose parts and no instructions.

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It's a challenge that many an adult would shy away from. But at Wiesbaden High School, like at hundreds of high schools around the world, students are excited about the schematic construction and software programming that goes into a hunk of metal that competes in a game that pits robots against robots.

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The annual FIRST Robotics Competition began in 1992 with 28 teams. This year 1,800 teams are expected to compete.

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This year's challenge - maneuver the team's robot on a 27-by-54-foot field with bumps and attempt to earn points by collecting soccer balls in goals. The game is called Breakaway.

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But, warned FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) founder Dean Kamen, students should not get weighed down by the nuts and bolts of the robot-centric competition.

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Broadcasting live in Manchester, N.H., to an audience of 50,000 students and mentors the world over via a NASA-TV broadcast feed, Kamen asked his legion of followers to take a step back this year and focus on something new.

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Try engaging a fan base for the 2010 Robotics Competition.

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According to Kamen, FIRST should be drawing in crowds for a sport that tests the mental agility of future engineers.

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As Wiesbaden High students watched the broadcast half a world away on a classroom projection screen, some nodded in agreement.

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"It was probably the only time in my life that I worked on one thing for so long and enjoyed it," said Nick McCormick, a senior at Wiesbaden High and returning member of the school's FRC team, the RoboWarriors.

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This is the RoboWarrior's second year to compete in the FRC. The team has grown to 42 members, 15 of whom will be allowed to accompany the team's robot to the 2010 competition in Las Vegas.

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Staring Jan. 9 the team will have six weeks to assemble and program a robot that can compete and keep pace with other teams' creations.

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Again, the competition issues no instructions for how to construct a robot from the assigned parts and pieces. That's where the life blood of FIRST comes in - the mentors.

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At Wiesbaden High, Scott Paul and Greg Frassmann, both employed in the IT department of the Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Europe system, volunteer their time helping students understand the basics of computer programming and building a sturdy robot.

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Scott said that the skills the students use are based on subjects they aren't supposed to learn until college.

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"It was really intimidating, because I had never done anything like that before," said McCormick of building last year's robot. "Everything we did was completely new to everyone."

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As the two-hour broadcast kick-off of the 2010 competition came to an end, Wiesbaden High teacher and RoboWarriors coach Frank Pendzich reminded students of the highlights of the upcoming challenge. They will have six weeks to construct a durable robot able to maneuver, roll over bumps, hang from platforms and kick a soccer ball.

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A,A "And remember," said Pendzich, "It's not about building a robot. It's about learning what you need to know to become an engineer."

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