It’s not exactly a typical homework assignment: Take a box of Erector-Set pieces and construct a robot that can move on command and quickly complete a series of assigned tasks.
Typical or not, that’s the assignment high school students from more than 30 schools around Rhode Island have been given as part of the FIRST robotics competition, a nationwide contest established by famed inventor Dean Kamen in 1992 to interest youngsters in math and science.
And more than high schoolers are involved.
The FIRST competition has several age categories, involving school children as young as 6 building robots made of Legos. There is also a second high school category in which students construct larger – and more expensive – robots. In each category, students work in teams of up to 10.
“They’re learning critical thinking, problem solving, communication, teamwork – the type of things that are important to learn at a young age,” said JoAnn Johnson, manager of education partnerships at the Tech Collective, a nonprofit alliance of local industry groups that is co-sponsoring the state level of the FIRST competition. “It’s amazing what these kids can do.”
Their abilities will be on display at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the New England Institute of Technology, 2480 Post Road, Warwick, during a special demonstration of the robots that have been constructed for the local FIRST competition.
Aside from showing off the students’ work, the event has another purpose: Organizers are hoping to attract the attention of local businesses and people with scientific backgrounds in hopes of motivating some of them to act as sponsors, coaches and mentors to the teams.
“It’s important that people who do that kind of thing for a living are helping out,” Johnson said.
FIRST – For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology – was the brainchild of Dean Kamen, a Manchester, N.H.-based inventor whose most widely known creation is the Segway, the electric, two-wheel personal transporter.
In developing the contest, Kamen’s goal was to inspire youngsters to enter technology and science fields.
It has certainly inspired participation. The inaugural version of the competition in 1992 drew 28 teams nationwide, with the finals held at a New Hampshire high school gym. Now more than 130,000 students with 10,700 robots participate annually, with the championships held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
In Rhode Island, more than 30 high school teams have been fielded for the FIRST Tech Challenge division – a mid-level high school competition that features a more affordable robotics kit, according to Erin Flynn, New England Tech’s manager for admissions outreach and events.
The teams were given their robotic parts in September and have been designing and building contraptions that can complete assigned tasks, which change annually. This year’s Tech Challenge rules require the remote-control robots to pick up PVC rings and place them over several posts in a 12-by-12-foot playing field. Points are awarded for each ring.
But the winners are determined by more than just their ability to score points. Teams can receive awards for such qualities as being inspirational and innovative. The state finals for the Tech Challenge division are scheduled for March 2 at Roger Williams University.
At the Lego League level – for children 9 to 14 – teams are being asked to develop robots that can make their way through an obstacle course that will include the task of installing a Lego solar panel on a toy home, among other “green” activities.
Competitors have already started another element of the contest: conducting an energy audit on a local building and recommend ways of reducing energy use and increase conservation.
Mary Johnson, the mentor of a team of mostly home-schooled children who represented the state at the finals in Georgia last year, said her team is taking part in the challenge again. The state championship for this division will take place on Jan. 12 at Roger Williams University.
The team – called Engineers of Tomorrow – will be at the demonstration on Tuesday at New England Tech.
Since there are only three high schools teams from Rhode Island constructing the larger robots – the FIRST Robotics Competition level – those students will participate in a regional competition in New Hampshire on Feb. 28, 29 and March 1.
The FIRST international championships for all competition levels will take place April 17-19 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. •
