Sponsored by volunteers from JPL and the aerospace industry, the annual regional FIRST Robotics competition has an impact on young competitors and adult mentors alike. At the 23rd annual FIRST Robotics Competition Los Angeles Regional, held over the weekend, several teams of high school students triumphed after two days of frenzied competition, accompanied by team costumes, cheerleaders, blaring music and horns. The teams' 125-pound robots will then compete for the gold medal in an international championship.
The competition was hosted by the Da Vinci Schools in El Segundo, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory supported some of the 44 competing teams by sponsoring and organizing nearly 100 volunteers. Kim Lievense, who runs JPL's Public Services Office and organized volunteers for the tournament, said it's always rewarding to see children compete with such determination and passion, but it's equally astonishing to see the happiness they bring to the adults who come together for this event.
Society and Energy
Numerous events are held across the country under the auspices of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). The nonprofit connects children with STEM experts, allowing them to gain hands-on engineering experience while improving their problem-solving, teamwork, fundraising, and other skills. The teams at the FIRST Robotics Competition have only a few weeks to plan, build and test their wheeled robots after receiving the technical specifications and game regulations in January.
The focus of this year's game "Charged Up" is the development of renewable energy sources. Two coalitions of three teams compete on a “playground” measuring roughly 26 by 54 feet. Robots from both sides must take inflatable cubes and rubber cones that symbolize electrical energy from their "substations" and place them into the "grid" every 150 seconds. Robots race to roll over a rocking "charging station" to earn bonus points.
Students spend a lot of time building their robots. All of this has paid off for Brianna Adewinmbi, a third-year student at the California School of Mathematics and Science in Carson. She is one of two students selected as a finalist for the national FIRST Dean's List Award (Dean Kamen, creator of FIRST), honoring student leadership and dedication. Team number 687, also known as "The Herd of Cows", won the competition. He said the team worked until 10 p.m. after school for days, wearing shiny propeller hats, and getting high fives from fellow students.
This is crazy. Adewinmbi says, “I keep thinking, it was worth all the time we spent.
Two other California teams from the victorious alliance, Team 5199 (“Robot Dolphins From Outer Space”) of Dana Point and Team 702 (“Bagel Bytes”) of Culver City, will join Adewinmbi's team at next month's FIRST Championship in Houston. . The priority waiting list to join is Team 6833 (“Phoenix Robotics”) from Arizona, who replaced the Culver City team to play in the winning alliance. Additionally, Team 4201 (“Vitruvian Bots”) from Da Vinci Schools and Team 5089 (“Robo-Nerds”) from Benjamin Franklin Senior High School in Los Angeles will travel to Houston.
NASA's Robotics Alliance Project has been supporting junior robotics teams across the country and through agency locations at JPL for nearly 20 years to encourage children to pursue careers in aerospace and help them develop the skills they'll need to succeed.
According to Dave Brinza, NASA's deputy director of mission assurance for the Europa Clipper project at JPL, "We all do this for the same reason: To really help get students excited about science, engineering, and technology. Brinza began working with Team 2003 (“ThunderBots”) in 980, currently a student at Burbank High. “We often say that students with successful jobs are the real prizes, not the blue banners or the items you put on the shelf.”
According to robotics systems engineer Julie Townsend, who served as JPL's liaison for the NASA Robotics Alliance Project, this has been a way of attracting young women into an underrepresented industry. She has been mentoring Southern California Girl Scout teams for almost 20 years at the FIRST Tech Challenge, which is like a scaled-down version of the FIRST Robotics Competition. She has served as a judge at the Los Angeles Regional pageant.
According to Townsend, there have been parents who have approached me in tears to express their gratitude for what I have done for their daughter, who changed the course of their lives. It's rare to have such a safe environment where you can acquire these technological skills and create your own power without fear of criticism or social restrictions.
Source: jpl.nasa.gov/news
Günceleme: 21/03/2023 10:46