Lots of teen hotshots use robots to win spots
Robots and their teen handlers competed Saturday at a technological throw-down at Regis University, where teams and their coaches sweated the smallest programming details that might give them the final advantage.
“It can get pretty intense,” said 18-yearold Chris Muller, a veteran of FIRST Tech Challenge, an annual competition that pits youth-designed robots in a 12-foot-square area where they must perform a variety of tasks to rack up points for a win.
This year’s state championship drew more than 300 Colorado students in grades 8-12. The winners of Saturday’s showdown, which took place at the Regis Field House, will advance to a regional tournament later this year in Seattle.
The tournament, which pits students and their creations against one another in a sports model format, can get heated. There are zebra-striped referees, there are cajoling parents and coaches, and there is a master of ceremonies who announces each 2minute, 30-second match with World Wrestling Federation gusto.
Team names also suggest a line-in-thesand assertiveness: Code Smashers, Steel Mustangs and Robo Yetis Robotics With an Attitude.
But team pride doesn’t trump cooperation and good sportsmanship at FIRST Tech Challenge, say organizers and partici-
pants. Teams design and build their robots from a reusable platform, powered by Android technology and programmed by Java.
The robots, each about the size of a cardboard box, weigh 30 pounds and do intricate jobs such as capturing and stacking small boxes. Some moves are preprogrammed while students direct the robots in other points in the match.
But to win, teams must form alliances with other teams to register points. The idea is not to sabotage opponents but learn to work together in onthe-fly situations, said Kathy Collier, who helps oversee Colorado’s FIRST Tech Challenge with her husband, Matthew.
FIRST Tech Challenge’s motto is “With gracious professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate notions,” Collier said. “Gracious professionals learn and compete like crazy, but treat one another with respect and kindness in the process.”
She added: “It’s competition, but it’s not cutthroat.”
Founded in 1989 in the hope of attracting more kids into science and technology, FIRST Tech Challenge has grown to 3,650 teams and 91,000 participants. The robotics season begins in September, when national organizers announce the game challenge.
Qualifying tournaments and state championships run from October through March, with teams advancing to four Super-regional tournaments before the world championship, which is in late April.
Mostly, the biggest challenge for participants is competing against themselves. “We work hard to better ourselves and improve ourselves,” said Muller, who will enter Colorado School of Mines in the fall. “It’s trying to reach new heights.”