ARLINGTON – The Arlington High School NeoBots FIRST Robotics Team 2903 came home Sunday from Houston winning 4th place at the FIRST World Championship Event April 19-22.
Fourteen students, mentors and their robot, Bertha, traveled to Houston to compete against student teams from 39 countries.
This was the team’s first-ever trip to the world championship, a wild card invitational team that showed its mettle.
Team mentor Mark Ehrhardt said the NeoBots’ performance by far exceeded expectations.
How the team did “is more of a testament to their perserverance and ingenuity,” Ehrhardt said. “There were things the students were still working on while they were there. They were improving the robot over the couple of days competing, showing teamwork and problem solving.”
More than 400 teams qualified for the 2017 FIRST Robotics world championship, divided into six fields. The Arlington team was among 67 in the Hopper subdivision, including teams from Australia, China, Israel, Mexico and Turkey.
Students said they came away with an amazing experience they will never forget.
Kaylee Wren, a senior and three-year team member, said she was proud of her team.
“Every year we kept on saying ‘next year we will win’ or ‘next year is our year,’ and for the first time in three years, I didn’t have to say that because we actually did it,” she said.
Wren said the highlight of the trip for her had less to do with robots than humans.
“We met so many different types of people from around the world,” she said. “I got to experience tons of different cultures and meet people from Australia, Japan and Israel.”
After winning the Hopper field, the NeoBots advanced to the playoffs, which were conducted at Minute Maid Park, where the Houston Astros play Major League Baseball.
The competition is played with alliances of three robots competing against each other.
Arlington’s alliance included a veteran team from San Jose, Calif. and a team from Dallas, Texas.
The final six alliances played a round robin tournament on the “Einstein field” at Minute Maid Park, and Arlington’s alliance went 3-2.
Ehrhardt said the core group of students have been involved in NeoBots for four years, which was one of the keys to the team’s win.
“It’s a very student-led and run enterprise,” he said. The core group have been with the NeoBots for four years, and have worked hard to evolve the robotics program.
Ehrhardt said while it may be a cliche, “It’s really not about the robot; the robot is a vehicle. It’s about the kids.”
Given six weeks starting in January to build a robot – requiring lots of after-school time as well, the kids aren’t only focused on engineering and programming. They need to deal with budgets, fundraising, public relations, advertising and other specialties.
“It’s a great experience for the kids,” he said.
Will the wild card NeoBots return next year? Ehrhardt thinks so, now that they’ve had a taste of victory at the world-class level.
“The kids have learned that they can do this, and I expect they’ll have a lot more success.”
Wren agreed. “I am excited to see how the team will do next year and feel great leaving the team on such a high note.”
What about Bertha?
She got a little bent along the way, Wren said, a little worse for the wear, but nothing students were unable to fix at the competition.
The NeoBots team was sponsored by The Boeing Company, state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, SPEEA, Rotary International, C & D Zodiac and Arlington High School.
FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an international not-for-profit organization, based in Manchester, N.H., that operates the FIRST Robotics Competition (grades 9-12), the FIRST LEGO League (grades 4-8), the FIRST LEGO League Jr. (grades K-3) and the FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7-12).
FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills.
