FLL

NYC Teams Represent FIRST at NYS Fair!

The New York State Fair will have a FIRST Exhibition featuring a partnership between FIRST and 4-H clubs working to bring math, science & engineering through robotics to youth across NYS.   FIRST FRC/FTC /FLL and Jr FLL Teams from all over the state will showcase the robots they designed, built, and used for competition during the 2010 Smart Move and Breakaway competitions.

During the ten day event more than a million people are expected to visit.  The four teams from NYC are the following:

• Stuyvesant  HS’s Stuypulse Team #694
• Queens Vocational and  Technical HS’s RoboTigers Team#1796
• Bronx Science HS’s Iron Maidens Team #2265
• EHTP’s Warriors of East Harlem Team # 1880

Students will  share their experiences growing up in diverse corners of the state with 4-H Clubs from every county in the state.  Clubs will also have an opportunity to learn about starting their own teams.

Where: NYS Fair Fairgrounds,
NYS Fair /4H Building
581 State Fair Blvd
Syracuse NY 13208
When: Aug 26 – Sept 6 from 10 am through 6 pm

Off-Season Activities of a Veteran FLL Team

What does a veteran FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team do during “off season” between FIRST competitions?  Why and how do certain teams got so good so fast?  Well, the secret is that the learning never stops; no matter if it is in or off season.

One of these year-round hard working teams is the Landroids from Livingston, NJ.  Formed in August 2007, this neighborhood team is the two-time New Jersey State Champion in 2007 and 2008, received 2^nd and 3^rd place awards at the FLL World Festival for Robot Design and Robot Performance in 2008, the recipient of 1st place US Champion and the Founders Award at the FLL US Open in 2009, and showcased the only robot that can climbed the Smart Move bridge at the 2010 FLL World Festival.  Noted by some as the most influential FLL team in New Jersey in the last three seasons, team Landroids continues to thrive for excellence in science research, robotics design and community outreach.

While all other FLL teams had packed up their project boards and took apart their robots after the qualifying or State events in December, team Landroids was nominated in the Grand Challenge Stories for their Climate Connection Beach Erosion project in February, volunteered at the NJ State FIRST Tech Challenge tournament and the FLL World Festival in Atlanta, as well as hosted a K-12 robotics exhibition at the Liberty Science Center on President’s Day, a FLL exhibition at Monty Madness in April, and a Jr. FLL/robotics Expo during the Memorial Day weekend at Livingston.

On June 21, 2010, Landroids was selected as the top 20 finalist teams in the international Google sponsored Moonbots challenge.  In 6 short weeks, the team produced a video research essay on YouTube, set up a new blog site, tested out multiple robotics sensors, submitted rendering of a robot design for the lunar missions.  On June 25, 2010, Landroids won the 1^st place 8^th grade national award in the U.S. Army sponsored eCYBERMISSION science competition with their Smart Move Deer Avoidance project.  The team was awarded with a total of $32,000 EE saving bond for their 6-month long research using tire noise as passive sonar source to detect deer’s acoustic fingerprint to warn the drivers in order to reduce animal-vehicular collisions.

If you ever talk to these consistently award winning teams from around the nation, one thing they all have in common is that the skill set is built on gradually week by week.  While most teams are taking a break during the off season, the top teams continue to sharpen their axes.  Do you remember the big snow storms this February, or the winter and spring breaks when there was no school?  The Landroids would braved the foul weather and gathered during any no-school days to work on their research projects, learn about electronics and sensor testing, LEGO Digital Designer, movie maker, created a new Lunar Landroids website, technical writing or programming in NXT-G, RobotC and LabView.  Each member would select his own focus of interests and the events he wants to participate in during the off-season.  The learning and team effort are year-round, one week at a time.

So don’t wait till September to think about your robot design or the FLL project. Stop wondering why some teams should win all the awards.  Three months of FLL season in the Fall cannot compare with the year-round effort.  Start gathering your teammates to set a new goal and areas of focus.  As the Landroids is graduating from the FIRST LEGO League circuit this September, your team may be the next leader in New Jersey FLL!

For more information about team Landroids, visit the team Facebook.

To start a new FLL team, see Landroids “Related Links“ and Livingston Robotics Club FAQ, schedule and forms.

Vote for FIRST and Raise Awareness While also Raising Funds

FIRST has an opportunity to receive $200,000 from American Express through Members Project. FIRST is one of 50 non-profits selected to participate.  To vote for FIRST visit click HERE and vote!  People can vote multiple times so get to it.

To read more about this effort and to learn about another opportunity to support FIRST click HERE.

Newton Robotics Team Summer Camp

A 5-days summer morning robotics design and construction camp. Limited to the first 24 campers who sign up. Two campers per robot kit.

Where: Halsted Street School, 59 Halsted Street, Newton, NJ 07860-2119

When: 9:00 AM – noon, Monday, July 19, 2010 – Friday, July 23, 2010

Hosted by: FRC team, Techno Nijas

Newton_Summer_Robotics_Camp_RegForm2010

NewtonRoboticsTeamSummerCAMP_2010

Cost: $100 per camper for the 5-day camp. Non-refundable! Campers will be provided with drinks and snacks. Lunches are not provided.

Contact: James Hofmann at jameshofmann37@gmail.com or call (973)903-9774 for registration or more information

Please send a check made out to: HMSNRT to secure a spot.  Mail to 37 Douma Drive, Newton, NJ 07860

NJ FLL New Coach/Mentor Class

A 3-day class to show parents how to start a new FLL team for their children.

Where: 225 Middlesex Ave. Metuchen, NJ

When: Monday, June 21, 22, 24 2010 (7:30 PM – 8:30 PM)

Hosted by: FTC team Say Watt (a FLL veteren) and FLL team Robot Rangers

Cost: Free, but pre-registration is required.

Contact: Jim Carr at jvcarr@aol.com (preferred) or call 732-397-1473 (mobile) to register and for full details.

To any parent who wants their kid to get into an FLL team, but can’t find one that is accepting new members, you are encouraged to start your own team.   Say Watt Robotics and the Robot Rangers want to help new teams get started.  You do not need a technical background – you just need to enjoy spending time with kids and watching them learn.   We will be conducting a three-evening seminar on:

- What is FLL Robotics and why get your kid involved

- What does a coach/mentor do?

- How to get started.

- Funding/budget.

- Needed skills.

- Suggested organization and schedule.

- How to organize parents so that you are not doing it all yourself.

- Where to go for technical help when you don’t know what the kids are doing.

- Common mistakes.

- Tips and tricks.

This will be set up as a three day class with slides and sample budgets.  You will also see the challenges from previous years.   We will meet on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, June 21, 22, and 24 from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM (right after our FLL training class).

This class is intended for prospective and first-year prospective coaches/mentors only, not for kids.  If you have your child with you, we will have some LEGO activities to keep them occupied.

Livingston Jr. FLL Expo Results

Great turnout for the Livingston Jr. FLL Expo and the robotics exhibition hosted by the Livingston Robotics Club on May 29, 2010 at Livingston, NJ.  For more information, see TheAlternativePress.

The winners from the “Smart Move” Jr. FLL teams presentation are:

For additional event pictures, see Landroids’ Facebook.

Livingston Jr. FIRST LEGO League Expo

Where: Town Oval, 357 South Livingston Ave., Livingston, NJ 07039
When: Saturday, May 29, 2010 (10:00 – 15:00)

Free admission, open to all visitors!

Livingston Robotics Club (LRC) is hosting a Jr.FIRST LEGO League Expo during the Livingston Youth Appreciation Week to showcase Livingston student teams and any other interested Jr. FLL teams. Jr.FLL is a non-competitive program for children ages 6-9 as part of global robotics competitions organized by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). The teams of elementary school students will display their “Smart Move” projects, and their LEGO robotics models which are about the transportation systems. Any Jr. FLL teams who are interested in participating, please contact LRC’s Jr. FLL division organizer, Mr. Surasit Nithikasem by 5/17/10, registration fee is $20.

The participating Jr. FLL teams are (tentative):

#103 Spongebots (Livingston)
#1375 Harrison Kidz Club Team A (Livingston)
#1375 Harrison Kidz Club Team B (Livingston)
#1375 Harrison Kidz Club Team C (Livingston)
#1428 Pantheon (Cedar Grove)
#1436 Mario (Livingston)

12:00 pm: Jr.FLL teams arrival
12:30pm to 1:00pm: Video Conference and Q&A session with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer, Ravi Prakash about the next Mars rover called “Curiosity”.
1:30pm to 2:15pm: Judging time. All children will be at the team’s table to present the project and the LEGO model to the judges
2:15pm to 2:45pm: Work on a greeting card for NASA’s Mars mission team 
2:45pm to 3:00pm: Award ceremony.

As part of the Jr. FLL Expo, there will be other activities for children to participate. These activities are open to general public with no admission fee:

Imagine Mars (in collaboration with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory): An interactive exhibition on Mars Exploration Programs, which includes video presentation and Q&A with NASA Engineer, poster boards, 3-D images from Mars, simulated noise, and Mars soil simulant. Children will have a chance to design a transportation system that will be constructed for an imaginary community of 100 residents on Mars. The designs  artwork and writing will be hung and displayed in the exhibition tent.

EcoCar: Video presentation from EcoCar team of University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada to discuss with children on the benefits of alternative fuel in our vehicles.

Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering (PAVE): An exhibition from PAVE team of Princeton University on their projects such as autonomous vehicle (driverless cars).

FIRST LEGO League Teams: Affiliated Livingston Robotics Club FLL teams will showcase their Smart Move research projects and LEGO robots from the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) competition for children ages 9-14. The participating teams are Landrias and Landroids, they will also be assisting the Jr. FLL Expo as judges.

Bike Rodeo (from 4 PM to 6 PM), organized by Livingston township police, supported by FIRST LEGO League team Landrias as part of their Smart Move biking project with the Livingston Robotics Club, everyone is invited to come by to register your bike, get a safety inspection and helmet adjustment, learn about proper riding etiquette, and bike around the high school oval with road secured by the police.

FIRST LEGO League World Festival NJ Young Volunteers – Part 2

Amongst hundreds of volunteers at the World Festival each year, there is a group of young people who are just as dedicated to contribute as the adults.  Many are middle school students and FIRST LEGO League (FLL) alumni, working as the field resetters, team queuers, judges’ assistants or the stand-in team.  Two of such young volunteers from New Jersey were at the 2010 FLL World Festival in Atlanta recently.  Their journey and reflection are featured in parts here. We welcome other FIRST young volunteers to contribute their stories and experiences.

~ By Karlin Yeh  ~

Two years ago, in 2008, I attended the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) World Festival in Atlanta with my rookie team, Landroids.  I was a good foot shorter in height and a lot more nervous.

Landroids vs. Tersa (Stand-in) at FLL World Festival 2008

This year, our team was nominated but not selected as a core values team to go to the 2010 World Festival again, I found that now I really wanted to go back to Atlanta.  My opportunity came when my parents took time off to volunteer at the World Festival, I quickly signed up to join them.  In the last three seasons with FLL, I have learned so much, I wanted to give back to the FLL community.  For me, being a World Festival volunteer meant lack of sleep since I was multi-tasking several different responsibilities between FLL and FTC, but it was also a lot of fun, well worth of skipping school.

A stand-in/queuing volunteer at FLL World Festival 2010

Besides as the official FLL team queuer and the one-person FLL robot stand-in team at the World Festival this year, I was also a fill-in FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) hardware inspector, and a young  mentor of a high school FTC team Lancers, who is also attending the World Festival.  Previously at the State level, I had volunteered as a FLL and FTC field resetter and FTC software inspector. I had also conducted FLL programming and training sessions with my teammates in the last two summers. It’s gratifying and worth all the preparation effort to inspire other new FLL enthusiasts. All of these volunteering experiences gave me opportunities meet new people, learn new skills and different design ideas, which prepare me for the future competitions.

WF volunteers cleared out the FLL fields in 15 minutes

One of the important rewards from volunteering, I think, is the friends you make.  At these competitions, you meet people from all over the state, country, or even the world.  Not surprisingly, many veteran FLL members of my age were also volunteers at the World Festival.  Each volunteer, young or old, is about as crazy and enthusiastic about FIRST as the next.  They gave up their vacation or free time, self funded to organize and help out at these events to ensure everything runs smoothly.  Most people probably don’t even notice how hard these volunteers worked behind the scene until you are one of them.  You learn to work together quickly, and develop a friendship and respect that last a long time.

Behind the scene robot round at 2010 FLL World Festival: NJ vs. GA

Besides being a volunteer at the World Festival this year, I was also privileged to have an unofficial robot round opposite this season’s Georgia State Champion who was also volunteering at the World Festival.  Behind the black curtain after the FLL competition was over, we had a mock competition complete with a referee! I don’t remember who scored what but we got to exchanged contact info and talked about programming obstacles we faced.  It was very nice and special to have no stress and just sharing ideas with the best minds.

Volunteering is the basis of FIRST no matter where in the world.  Ordinary people sacrifice their own time and money to organize and run these events to make all the teams have a good time.  Whether it was inspecting robots, hosting a seminar, or just helping out a local event, the volunteering effort was well worth it and I’ve have gained so much from these experiences.

NJ Young volunteers (Tersa & Karlin) at the FLL World Festival 2010

FIRST LEGO League World Festival NJ Young Volunteers – Part 1

Amongst hundreds of volunteers at the World Festival each year, there is a group of young people who are just as dedicated to contribute as the adults.  Many are middle school students and FIRST LEGO League (FLL) alumni, working as the field resetters, team queuers, judges’ assistants or the stand-in team.  Two of such young volunteers from New Jersey were at the 2010 FLL World Festival in Atlanta recently.  Their journey and reflection are featured in parts here. We welcome other FIRST young volunteers to contribute their stories and experiences.

Tersa Hensen was born into a FIRST family…not the ones who live in the White House, but the ones who are dedicated to the volunteering tradition of FIRST.

A FTC field resetter in 2004

Following her farther Carl, who is a FIRST fanatic since 1994, Tersa started to go FIRST robotics events in Minnesnowta, then in the south Jersey, Philly and Delaware areas at a tender age of two. By the time Tersa was eight in 2004, she was already a FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) field resetter, diligently picking up stray balls after each round.

In 2005, Tersa and her best friends Chelsea wanted to start their own FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team. The girls made their own flyers to recruit team members, but had a hard time to find enough “tomboys” to fill the teams with only girls. Nevertheless, with her father Carl as the coach, FLL team Tabernacle Techno Tigers competed from 2005 to 2007. Only in the team’s last season, could they finally have all-girls roster.  After three seasons of FLL competition, at age 12, Tersa was ready to move on to be a FLL volunteer.  She and her friends have volunteered at the Delaware FIRST State FLL events, with the Champions Tournament at the Bob Carpenter being the final event of the year.  They have worked themselves up to being one of the primary groups of volunteers doing competition field reset!

As 2008 FLL World Festival Stand-in

In 2008, Tersa and four kids from Canada got together to form an official FIRST FLL fill-in team at the FLL World Festival.  One of her rounds was opposite the then rookie team, the Landroids from NJ.  She and her dad continued to volunteer at the FLL World Festival and FRC Championship in Atlanta for the next two years.

Tersa was the FLL team queuers on the competition fields in 2009; and this year, manned the queuing table where the teams picked up their match cards in.

FLL World Festival Queuer 2009

With years of FLL competition and local volunteering experiences, a young World Festival volunteer like Tersa, needs very little training. She knows exactly what is required and what has to be done.  A position such as the team queuer gave Tersa the opportunity to interact with the 84 teams from all over the world.

FLL World Festival Queur 2010

When Tersa is not ‘on the job’ at the World Festival, you can usually find her out on the plaza between the GWCC and the Georgia Dome giving out hugs.  Next year, you can be sure that she and her best friend Chelsea will be back to the World Festival volunteering.

FIRST LEGO League mission history (photos)

From the 2010 FIRST LEGO League (FLL) World Festival display, 10 years of FLL robot missions: