Teens and Their Robots to Compete in 'Superbowl of Smarts'

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Members of Mountain Home's 2012 Bomb Squad team celebrate after winning the FIRST world championship in St. Louis.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Thirty-eight teams of high school students from Arkansas and seven surrounding states will gather at Barnhill Arena April 4-6 to participate in the Razorback Regional FIRST Robotics Competition. The event will showcase original student work: 150-pound robots, designed and built in just six weeks, that can climb and play a wicked game of Frisbee. The competition is hosted by the University of Arkansas College of Engineering. The public is encouraged to attend and admission is free. On Thursday and Friday paid parking is available in the Arkansas Union parking deck accessed from Stadium Drive; on Saturday visitors may use any campus parking space that is not reserved for handicapped parking or marked “reserved at all times.”

Dubbed “the Superbowl of Smarts,” the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition is a worldwide program that challenges teams of high school students to design and build robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. Professional engineers and technical mentors assist the students throughout the design and competition process. The tasks vary from year to year, and are designed to challenge students across disciplines, from computer programming to mechanical and electrical engineering, all while incorporating math and science.

In this year’s challenge, “Ultimate Ascent,” the robots scoop up and toss flying discs to score points. For an added challenge, two pyramid structures will be placed on the court that the robots can scale to score additional points.

Members of Mountain Home's 2012 Bomb Squad team work on their robot during competition.

“The climbing element may be the toughest I’ve seen,” said Chase Rainwater, an assistant professor of industrial engineering and co-chair of the event. His experience with FIRST dates to his high school days, when he competed on Mountain Home’s powerhouse team, the Bomb Squad. “It’s a free-for-all at the end of the game, with 40-plus Frisbees in the air – the spectators will enjoy it,” he said.

Arkansas’ participation in FIRST competitions has been limited up to now, because student teams had to travel out of state to compete. 

“We have the critical mass to make this happen now in Arkansas,” said Bryan Hill, an assistant dean of student recruitment, honors and international programs in the College of Engineering who is co-chairing the event. “Last year, we had three teams in the state; this year, thanks to the competition here at the University of Arkansas, and the hundreds of hours put in by the Arkansas FIRST organization to bring new participants to the program, there are 17.”

The teams will compete for awards that recognize design excellence, competitive play, sportsmanship and teamwork. Six teams will earn spots at the World Championship in St. Louis to be held April 24-27. Hill emphasized that the benefits for the student competitors extend well beyond a medal or an entry on a resume.

“The students take six weeks to work and compete in a high-stress environment, and they’re working with professional engineers,” Hill said. “This is as close to “real-world engineering” as a student can get – it’s great practice in time management.”

Hill and Rainwater, along with John Novak, Baxter Senior Principle Engineer and Meredith Novak, FIRST Regional Director, have worked since last June with a small army of volunteers to organize the event. Rainwater also has served as one of the mentors for the Springdale High School’s GearHogs team. Alex Anderson, a first-year computer engineering student and alumnus of a Mountain Home World Championship team, has carved out time from his busy schedule to coach the GearHogs team, as well.

“I’ve been involved in FIRST since the sixth grade, when I competed in the LEGO league,” Anderson said. “FIRST helped me in math; when I was learning equations in algebra, I could take that over to robotics and put it to work. I mentored younger kids when I was in high school and really enjoyed teaching them what I knew – I wanted to continue that here.”

The hours invested in FIRST will undoubtedly help the competitors, but may benefit the College of Engineering, as well.

“We’re bringing potential engineers here to see our campus,” Hill said. “They are the best and brightest math and science students in the region, and this experience has prepared them well for engineering programs.”

Cosponsors for the event include Baxter International, Inc. and Arkansas FIRST.

Baxter International Inc. is a founding sponsor of FIRST Robotics since 1992 and has provided start-up funding and volunteerism support for Arkansas FIRST. For more information, please visit first.uark.edu.

About FIRST

Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and more than $14 million in college scholarships. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.