Engineering fanatics and curiosity seekers, come see robots work their magic. The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Buckeye Regional Robotics Competition is a lively and intriguing event. Founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, inventor extraordinaire (the electric powered human transporter Segway PT and other devices), the FIRST organization has grown into an international competition.
At the beginning of each year, registered high school teams receive a video presentation of instructions and over one hundred pounds of pieces and parts to construct a robot. Each team is given the same directions and the same mechanical parts, but each year, there are different instructions and different parts. Robots, designed and programmed by high school student teams within a six-week time frame, face off at competitions to navigate through a rigorous obstacle course. Almost an extreme sport, this challenging assignment focuses on high school students, but also involves coaches and mentors, and community business sponsors. NASA Glenn Research Center is a major sponsor of this competition.
George Bilokonski, director of the Youth Technology Academy at Cuyahoga Community College, has been the coach manager for the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) team since 2002. “‘We are Cleveland’s Team’ is written on our T-shirts,” said Bilokonski. “We are FIRST Team #1270. Back in 2007, this team took third place in the world competition after winning the division title in Atlanta,” he said with pride. Worldwide, there are over 13,000 teams and 30,000 high school students participating in the challenge. The CMSD team, led by Michael Barron and Robert Gest (former students in this program) has 35 members. They recently competed in Florida winning the Spirit Award for enthusiasm and team cohesiveness.
For this year’s obstacle course, the robots have to drive over several 12″ speed bumps, score a goal like in soccer, and hang from a bar nine feet in the air. Good Luck to the 60 FIRST Teams competing this year at the Buckeye FIRST Regional Robotics event at the CSU Wolstein Center starting March 25-27. For more information, visit http://www.oai.org/firstbuckeye/index.htm.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Susan Schaul, who says the act of writing is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. The challenge lies in getting the pieces to fit together and make sense.