Community Corner
Area Teams Compete in Robotics Competition
Fenton, Linden and Hartland Teens Take Part in Kettering University FIRST Robotics District
Students from three local communities take part in a robotics competition at Kettering University this Saturday and Sunday.
GRAYT (Genesee Robotic Area Youth Team) Leviathons of Fenton, the Electro Eagles from Hartland and Linden’s Robo Eagles are among the 40 teams fighting for spots in the FIRST state and national championships in April.
Kim Weber, Fenton resident, and her husband, Joe, coach the Leviathons and mentor the new Electro Eagles and Robo Eagles teams. In addition, she said,
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“We have younger students who are mentored in the Lego League,” Weber said of the students who go along to observe all competitions.
She added that competitors are shown a game animation through NASA’s website. After that, they have six weeks to design, build, program and learn to operate a 120-pound robot through the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) program.
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Weber explained these three teams are composed of high school age students, but, unlike most of their competitors, are not sponsored by schools. Instead, they're supported by local businesses. Fenton’s team sponsors are Weber Electric and General Motors; JCPenney is footing the bill for Hartland’s team and the Linden team is financed by a SRT grant.
FIRST is a national effort to inspire youth to explore career possibilities in engineering, science and technology, according to press information from Kettering University.
The event, which is open to the public free of charge, takes place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, March 4 and 8:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 5. In press materials, it's described as a head-to-head competition between large radio-controlled robots built by teams of high school students, with teachers and engineers as mentors.
This year’s game is called LOGO MOTION and is played by two competing alliances on a flat 27’ x 54’ foot field. Each alliance consists of three robots. Take a look at this three-minute video.
Kettering University’s FIRST Robotics District is a qualifying event for Michigan’s state championship in Ypsilanti April 7-9. The national 2011 FIRST Championship is scheduled for April 28-30 in St. Louis, Mo. For more information, visit www.firstinmichigan.org.
Press information from Kettering University’s website contributed to this article.
