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Students Win First at Lego Tournament

By Taylor Strube
Published: Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:07:00 -0500

A team of five, including Potter’s School students Jaime Pier and Bryan Beck, won the highest award at the FIRST Lego League (FLL) tournament in Budapest, Hungary, on November 24. Having won first last year at the NanoQuest, MentorBots, an all-homeschool team, has established quite the reputation in only a few short years of competition.

 

FLL, now in its tenth year with over thirty participating countries and 100,000 participants, began with a partnership between FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and the LEGO Company. “It combines a hands-on, interactive robotics program and a research presentation with a sports-like atmosphere,” explains the official website. “Teams consist of up to 10 members and focus on such things as team building, problem solving, creativity, and analytical thinking.”

 

The team created a modular robot made of LEGO, powered and controlled by an NXT brick which provides the “brain.” The motorized robot performed a series of missions to test its ability to respond to external stimuli (such as light, touch, and color) or follow pre-set commands. Some of these missions required the robot to move a solar panel onto the roof of a lego house or deliver oil barrels to a power plant. “We managed to solve all of the missions, however due to time constraints we were not able to do all of them,” says team captain Jaime Pier.

In addition to these missions, Jaime and Bryan also answered judge’s questions about their robot and gave a presentation. This presentation addressed the challenge to find sustainable, eco-friendly systems of energy production. “How do our personal energy choices to heat our homes, fuel our cars, charge our cell phones, power our computers, or even download music to our iPods impact the environment, economy, and life around the globe?” asked this year’s Power Puzzel challenge.

 

In their presentation, MentorBots gave an energy audit of a building in their community, proposed ways to decrease its energy consumption, and demonstrated that they had shared their findings with the community. After they completed the missions and gave their presentation, they tied for second and third place in teamwork, second in robot design, and second in presentation. After weighing these scores, MentorBots received the highest possible recognition at the tournament, the Champion’s Award.

The team began four years ago when the Piers moved to Hungary. “My father and I had previously done FLL in the States, so when we moved here, we wanted to start a team,” explains Jaime Pier. Bryan joined the team last year along with two friends, Marc S. (14) and Justin G. (13). Marc’s brother Alex (10) participated for the first time this year. Thinking back over the years, Jaime reflects on how the team has developed: “We have matured a lot, and I guess have become closer friends.”

 

As for the future of MentorBots, the Piers are moving back to the States next year, and without their coach and mentor, the team cannot compete. “I still have chances to do FLL next year,” says Bryan. “There are two American schools here, one that has shown an interest in doing it next year, and the other did it this year and did very well. So I do have options. But no, there will not be a MentorBots team next year at the competition in Hungary.” As only students fourteen or younger may compete in the States, next year will be Jaime’s last if she chooses to compete with another team. In such a short amount of time, though, the team’s dedication and ingenuity have brough them twin trophies, closer friendship, and countless memories.

 

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