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Arkansas 4-H Tech TEAM is Hawaii-bound for national competition
Arkansas Ten young Arkansans were heading to Honolulu on July 6, on a rescue mission. Their task: To save "Botguy" from the volcano. The "rescue mission" is the goal of competition at this year's National Conference on Educational Robots. The "rescue team" is the Arkansas 4-H Tech TEAM, whose members range in age from 13 to 17. The rescue goal, "Botguy," is the mascot of Botball, the name of the annual competitions and educational program that encourages junior high and high school level youths to explore robotics. The team will be facing 64 others--one from as far away as Poland. "We're excited about going to this national conference," said Willa Williams, 4-H Youth-Agriculture Associate with the Cooperative Extension Service and team adviser. "This is a great chance to learn new techniques, meet like-minded robot enthusiasts and be inspired by what we see around us." To get to the competition, the team had to integrate math, computer programming and mechanical engineering to create a completely autonomous robot to perform a specific task. Under the Botball program, the teams are given uniform parts with which to complete their task. "There are no remote controls in this competition," Williams said. "They have to be able to brainstorm and be able to anticipate anything the robot must face and program it to 'make decisions' to accomplish the task. "The team members also have to develop the patience to test, document their results and re-test the 'bot until it works the way they want," she said. The team survived a regional qualifier. At Honolulu, the team will have to make it through both single-and double-elimination rounds. Competition is just one aspect of the five-day conference, which also includes guest speakers, including ones from NASA and iRobot; presentations by teachers; sessions on design and programming and a showcase where builders can put their robots through their paces in a non-competitive atmosphere. The Arkansas 4-H Tech Team consists of the following members: --Laura Fendley, 13, Hot Springs; --Kayla Utley, 13, Hot Springs; --Colbie Phillips, 14, Humphrey; --Sarah Connolly, 15, Rogers ; --Allison Brewer, 16, Batesville; --Seth Fendley, 15, Hot Springs; --Tim Francis, 17, Monticello; --Caleb Taylor, 15, Bentonville; --Benjamin Freuhauf, 16, St. Joe; --Boone Sumners, 13, Hector. The conference won't be all work. Williams and the chaperones have a busy schedule that includes hiking Diamond Head using GPS--another favorite tech team activity--as well as visiting the USS Arizona National Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Despite Hawaii's laid-back image, the team will be energized, Williams said. "They get pretty nervous before competitions," she said, adding, "And we won't be relaxing our conduct rules--even in a tropical paradise." One Arkansas team rule bars food and drink during competition. "LEGOs won't stay connected as well with food oils on them," Williams said laughing. "Other teams don't have that rule and our robots last a lot longer." The Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture. Date: 7/26/07
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