Robots battle it out at the FIRST Robotics competition at the University of Denver
Hundreds of future engineers proved their promise Friday afternoon in a battle among robots they designed and built to stack cubes quickly and efficiently on a scale. The 120-pound robots, designed and built by high school students, showed off the kids’ abilities in mechanical, electrical and computer engineering, but also highlighted their talent and passion for science.
“Since I was in seventh grade, I knew I wanted to be a mechanical engineer, but this has helped me realize I will really enjoy what I will do,” said Jared Durham, a 15-year-old student from Emmett J. Conrad High School in Texas, who added that participating in the FIRST Robotics’ Colorado regional event also helped make school more interesting.
There were 51 teams from around Colorado and several nearby states — and one team from Turkey — competing in Magness Arena at the University of Denver. They had been working on their robots for six weeks, sometimes putting in five hours a day, seven days a week.
The teams, each of which consisted of numerous members, typically work with two or more professional engineers, who coach them through the building process as they learned to use sophisticated hardware and software.
The competition begins with each team finding itself in an arena styled to look like an 8-Bit Armies video game arena.
During the first 15 seconds, robots operate independently and following reprogrammed instructions. Their job is to stack cubes on a scale while tipping it in their favor.
During the next 2 minutes, 15 seconds, operators take control of their robots and continue to place cubes on the scale.
While the students take part in this after-school program to learn about science, technology and teamwork, participation gives them a chance at landing a scholarship from a $50 million pool funded by 200 donors.
Durham said he hopes to get a scholarship and, after he graduates from college, work for Texas Instruments.
His teammate, Juan Velazquez, 18, said he enjoys how much he has learned from this experience, especially because it is something he can’t learn in a classroom looking at a Powerpoint.
While robot drivers and mentors went down to the arena to begin the competition, their teammates showed their team spirit by waving their school flags and cheering.
One team traveled all the way from Istanbul. Although their trip left them exhausted, the students seemed overjoyed to be competing in the U.S for the second time.
“We feel special that we are the only international team,” said Yaqmur Yildirim, a 16-year-old at Alkev High School. “At first, we were scared and shy because we were surrounded by people speaking in English, but now we actually feel confident.”
Yildirim, the project coordinator, said many students at her school have joined the team because they see how much fun they have.
“The thing that makes people want to join our team is our team spirit,” she said “They see us hang out and have fun and they want to join.”
Serdar Kahraman, 17, the Turkish team’s driver for the fourth time and its mechanical and electrical engineer, said he hopes the team will go to nationals next month in Texas and return home as winners.