Millersville University Hosts State’s Robotic Championship Challenge

Thanks to Millersville University students and the Department of Applied Engineering, Safety & Technolgy (AEST), the championships of Pennsylvania’s FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC®) Grades 7-12 will be held on the Millersville campus on Saturday, March 2, 2013.  Technology education majors Mylinda Johe and Russ Carey not only helped bring the challenge to the ‘Ville, but they also are mentors of high school students.

“The Millersville students provided guidance and support for the high schoolers building their robots,” said Marcy Dubroff, a parent of one of the team members.

FTC is designed for those who want to compete head to head, using a sports model. Teams of up to 10 students are responsible for designing, building and programming their robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams.

“We expect about 400 people to be in attendance for the event. Many of our AEST students and faculty are volunteers in the event, along with many other local community members being recruited by the PA FIRST folks,” said Dr. Sharon Brusic, associate professor and technology education coordinator for the department at Millersville.

The state championship, which will be held in the Student Memorial Center, is the culmination of months of robot design and preparation by the students. Local participating students at the Millersville event are from Penn Manor, Lampeter-Strasburg and Hempfield school districts.

All participating teams have been given a challenge in which their robot must perform a certain set of tasks. This year’s challenge, dubbed “Ring it Up,” requires the robots to score points by placing rings onto pegs suspended from a center rack.  Teams will also be challenged to detect  “weighted” rings to earn a special bonus.

“Everyone gets the same challenge, but no two robots come out the same,” said Dubroff, mother of participant Ryan Ulrich, a junior at Hempfield High School and member of the local LAN Lords team. “That’s what makes this competition so interesting.”  Dubroff explained that her son worked on the mechanical design of his team’s robot, while other team members worked on programming, and others have concentrated on the operation of the robot. “It’s a true team effort,” she said.

The FTC Challenge is under the auspices of  the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology organization (FIRST), which was founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. Based in Manchester, N.H., the not-for-profit public charity designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, knowledge and life skills.

The national event will feature student teams from across the country competing for a chance to participate at the 2013 FTC World Championship in St. Louis, Mo.