Hercules Helps Local High School Robotics Team Win Regional Competition

The Hercules Franklin Plant sponsored the Franklin High School Robotics Team which won the NASA/VCU Regional FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition in Richmond, Virginia March 2-4. The competition is designed to make science, math, engineering and technology as cool for kids as sports. Employees William Robertson and Mike Schlatter were mentors for the team made up of about a dozen students from Franklin High School and eight mentors from around the community.

This year’s game involved shooting 8” foam basketballs into a 30” diameter target 8-1/2 feet high for 3 points each, or into rectangular goals near floor level for 1 point each. Robot teams were grouped into two 3-team alliances for each match, and the two alliances competed against each other. Each match consisted of a 10-second autonomous period in which the robots performed without any human interaction, followed by three 40-second driver assisted periods in which the alliances alternated between offense and defense.

The Franklin team was ranked 7th out of 64 teams after the qualifying rounds, which earned them a spot in the tournament and the right to choose two teams to be their alliance partners throughout the tournament. The Franklin alliance went undefeated through the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds to win the event and earn the right to compete at the National competition in Atlanta April 27-29.

The Franklin Team competed in the Archimedes division against 84 teams. Although luck wasn't with them this year, their spirits aren't daunted and they are already planning for 2007. In a press release, Dean Kamen, renowned inventor of the Segway Human Transporter and FIRST founder said, “Our country is in the middle of a crisis in science and technology, and FIRST is trying to change how our culture views these fields. We’re helping young people see scientists and engineers in the same light as their traditional heroes in sports and entertainment.”

For more on the FIRST Robotics Competition, visit the FIRST website at www.usfirst.org and the NASA/VCU Regional website at www.virginiafirst.org .