Loflin Robotics Club TERMINATES the Competition

On Saturday, January 14th, the Loflin Robotics Engineers (LRE) participated in their first competition.  The TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association) competition included Regions 10 and 11 representing the entire Dallas/Fort Worth area. The participants are giving the opportunity to explore design, collaborate, plan, assemble, program and compete to see who has developed the smartest robot.  The process develops critical thinking skills and problem solving. 
Loflin MS sent four teams to the competition.  We placed 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th!  The 1st and 2nd place teams are now eligible to go to the TCEA state competition.  TCEA has not released the location or date of the state competition, but the teams are already preparing for the next level. 

The competition is called “Hot Rods”.  The scenario involves the clean-up of a nuclear reaction melt down, inspired by the disastrous Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan.  Since humans would be exposed to radiation, the task to clean up the site must be done by a robot.  The robot is supposed to move all depleted fuel rods (black chips) to the waste disposal area and replace the depleted fuel rods with active fuel rods (red chips) so the plant will be operational again. 
Here are some quotes from the LRE team members.

Jordan W. says, “Robotics is a fun and interesting club to be in.  It is very challenging. You have to be a very patient person because sometimes it takes more than 10 trials to get one small thing right.” Micah J. said, “Robotics is a way to be smart and have fun at the same time. It will help me in life a lot.” And, Reilly C. says, “I learned a lot about being an engineer because of Robotics.”