Tech-savy teens play robot soccer
Written by Kent Pierce - WTNH on April 02, 2010
Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - Hundreds of tech-savvy teens have converged at the Convention center in Hartford for a special Robotics Competition Friday.
It's an amazing combination of sports and smarts, it is robot soccer being performed by an amazing group of academic athletes. High School teams from across America and even the world competed for months to get here. It's called FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. It's the regional competition to build and operate better robots.
But a lot of work goes into putting one of these robots together. "Well we get 6 weeks of build season after they introduce the game competition to us," said Emily Baldwin a junior at the Greater Hartford Area Magnet School.
This time, the game is to put soccer balls into a goal, but there are obstacles and opponents in the way.
The 'Pirates of the Pythagorean' from the Greater Hartford Academy of Math and Science got high marks in previous competitions. That is despite the terrible accident that happened on the way to one match in January. Their bus was in a collision on I-84, where team member Vikas Parikh died. "We're trying to do this in memory of him and make him proud of us," said team member Emily Baldwin. "That's why we put his name on the back of our T-shirts and on our robot." "We're trying to make him proud because that's what he would have wanted, had he been here," said Baldwin.
A video tribute opened the competition, and then the games began. It's as spirited as any athletic event with the added bonus that the skills they're learning will benefit all of us in the future. "This is really about finding tomorrow's problem solvers and innovators," said Al Lara from Northeast Utilities. "Every year, FIRST challenges the kids to take another step and make a robot that is better than before."
The games on Friday are just the preliminary rounds. The finals are actually in Hartford on Saturday, with teams looking to move onto the national competition.
Updated: Friday, 02 Apr 2010, 2:20 PM EDT
Published : Friday, 02 Apr 2010, 2:20 PM EDT
