Woodlands robotics team returns to global championship – Chron.com

Photo: Steve Gonzales, Staff

Team SESI Big Bang, from Birigui, Brazil, cheer as they compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Global Robotics Championship on Thursday.

Team SESI Big Bang, from Birigui, Brazil, cheer as they compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Global Robotics Championship on Thursday.

Team SESI Big Bang, from Birigui, Brazil, cheer as they compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Global Robotics Championship on Thursday.

Team SESI Big Bang, from Birigui, Brazil, cheer as they compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Global Robotics Championship on Thursday.

Woodlands robotics team returns to global championship

Forty-five students from a Woodlands-based world-champion robotics team are among 15,000 students who gathered Thursday for the start of what organizers say is the "world's largest robotics celebration" at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

"We need more engineers in our society," said Oak Ridge High School senior and veteran robotics competitor London Darce. "Robots are taking over the world, so you want to be the one that's building them, not the one that they're replacing."

Her team, Texas Torque, is one of several Lone Star state teams in the competition. It previously has been a winner at the global championship.

As a result, ConroeISD agreed to construct new robotics labs at The Woodlands College Park High School and Caney Ceek High School, said Texas Torque mentor Sherry Coates. The $2.5million facilities are set to open next month.

'Every kid can go pro'

The Conroe students were among the more than 15,000 K-12 students to descend on Houston this week, arriving from 24 states and 33 countries for the 2017 FIRST Championship. It is an annual robotics competition presented by telecommunication equipment company Qualcomm Inc.

"It's exactly like sports, except we're using robots instead of humans," said Darce.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is the ultimate showdown for student robotics teams around the world, combining sports with the challenges of science and technology.

Inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen founded the New Hampshire-based nonprofit in 1989 to encourage students to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education.

FIRST, in partnership with National Instruments, came to an agreement in 2016 to get robotics recognized as an official varsity sport in school districts across Texas. This year, the initiative brought hands-on science lessons to 1,500 Texas students.

"This is the sport where every kid can go pro," said FIRST President Don Bossi. "The skills they're learning here are directly transferable to a whole host of careers where there is a shortage of people."

FIRST Championships are held around the nation to immerse participants in diverse cultures and accommodate low-income students who aren't able to travel.

This year marks FIRST's arrival in Houston, where it will remain annually until 2020 - generating what promoters estimate will be $30million for the Texas economy. FIRST chose Houston because of the convention center's capacity to hold their attendees, but also for the STEM-centric attractions, such as Johnson Space Center.

Much more than robots

In advance of the competition, students spendsix-eight weeks building their robots for regional events to qualify for FIRST. If qualified, they ship the robots to the Championship's host city. Each team is composed of students from different high schools within the same area.

Throughout the pits, teams were identifiable by their costumes: Texas Torque wore black, but other teams had brightly coloredT-shirts with team logos and matching dyed hair.

During 2 minute matches on a synthetic green field, participants stand on two "airships," or platforms, as their robot races across the field to relocate green balls, meant to represent the robot's "refueling." The robot then delivers fake gears to the airship "pilots."

The main objective is to get each robot hooked onto the airship and raised off the ground, despite their massive weight.

"Quite honestly, when I first heard of FIRST - you know, you hear 'robots,' and quite admittedly, I thought 'this is a little dorky,'" said Jennifer Brunelle, director of Positive NRG, a FIRST sponsor. "But when you talk to the students and see how much they're learning, it's so much more than robots."

The winning teams at this year's FIRST Championships will be awarded after their final matches at Minute Maid Park on Saturday.

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Woodlands robotics team returns to global championship - Chron.com