Wally the robot is losing his mind, but it’s for a good cause.
The symbol of the Chatham-Kent Cyber Pack’s trip to the F.I.R.S.T. (Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) world championship last year, Wally’s brain will be part of this year’s effort to earn a world title in robotics.
This year’s Cyber Pack is 43-members strong with secondary school students from across Chatham-Kent joining forces to develop a robot capable of competing in games against teams from around the world.
Lead mentor Matt Daudlin said the group has a formidable task in its second year. “Last year we won the FRC Rookie All-Star Award at the Windsor-Essex Great Lakes Regional competition and it earned us a trip to the world championship in St. Louis. We have some of the team members back but we have a lot of challenges ahead of us.”
F.I.R.S.T. was founded in 1989 by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, as a way to introduce more teens, particularly woman and minorities, to science and technology careers.
The movement has grown to embrace nearly 3,000 teams and 75,000 students from 19 countries.
Daudlin said last year’s world championships were even more than he anticipated. “The event was held at the St. Louis arena (Edwards Jones Dome) and there were 6,800 competitors,” he said. “The atmosphere was amazing.”
This year’s game is Stronghold, a game played by two alliances of three teams each whose purpose is to overcome the opposing team’s defences, surround and scale its tower and score.
“It really is the super bowl for nerds,” he said.
Even though robots are the centerpiece of the event, they aren’t what FIRST is about, Daudlin said.
“It’s not about the robot,” he said. “This is an experience that takes some of the best and brightest young people we have, gives them a challenge like they’ve never had before and molds them into both a team and a competitor. The robots are almost incidental.”
The Cyber Pack team has only six weeks to design and build the robot within specific size and cost limits.
Scott St. Amaud, one of nine adult mentors, said the team received game details Jan. 9 and has until Feb. 23 at midnight to complete the robot.
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“Midnight means midnight,” he said. “Last year we completed the robot two hours ahead of deadline. At the deadline, adults tag and bag the robot.”
While one team of students is engaged in the design and building of the robot, another group is marketing Cyber Pack and raising funds to build it.
“Students need to learn that things cost money in the real world,” Daudlin said. “Last year’s group raised $35,000 and managed to keep $5,000 for this year’s entry fee.”
While the group has some corporate backing from Union Gas and St. Clair College, students will be canvassing the community, said mentor Roger Faubert.
“They have to learn how to get past the gatekeepers, how to tell their story to people who are potential donors and to do that they have to be persistent,” he said.
James Thompson, last year’s fundraising leader, is now in college and can’t compete, however, he is lending his expertise.
“I had no experience in what I was doing,” he told this year’s team at a meeting last week. “I just kept on working, I celebrated each success and gave it as much effort as I could. There were times I was discouraged but I didn’t quit. You can do this too.”
Returning team member Aaron Van Den Enden of the Pines, said he enjoys the challenges set forth by the F.I.R.S.T. program.
“I enjoy being able to take ideas and then design and build based on what you think you know,” he said. “It’s rare that something works exactly the way you thought so you have to be adaptable.”
Daudlin said one of the toughest parts of the effort is “watching the kids fail. You can’t do it for them. They have to learn and when you see them fall and get up, it’s a great feeling.”
He said seeing the effort and enthusiasm put forth by students keeps him motivated.
“I drank the Kool-Aid,” he said. “I’ve seen how kids grow in confidence through overcoming the adversity. They say this is the hardest fun you’ll ever have and I believe it.”
He said the movement has grown in prestige to the point where major international firms and universities are taking note.
“Firms are tracking these kids and wanting to hire them because of the ability they’ve shown,” he said. “Universities are giving extra credit to students applying for admission if they’ve done the F.I.R.S.T. program.”
