About two weeks ago, I volunteered at a FIRST Robotics Competition in Clifton. A large number of other Stevens students (from the Theta Alpha chapter Alpha Phi Omega) also volunteered. We held positions ranging from Assistant Safety Glass Coordinators to Judges and Referees. Howard Cohen was also there, coordinating major events with his role as “Lead Howard.”
I watched robots built by high school students throw yoga balls around an arena the size of a volleyball court, and helped ensure the balls were kept under control. Frankly, I’m amazed. The closest thing my high school had to a robotics competition was a science fair (and I don’t mean that as a complement to the technological advancement of our science fair).
FIRST is an organization that seeks to develop science and technology skills. Literally, FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” They host a number of events; many of them based on building robots of various sizes and having them compete in some fashion. This ranges from the FIRST junior LEGO league for ages 6 to 9 to the FIRST Robotics Competition for High school students.
I think this program is amazing, and the skills it has taught those students will be incredibly useful, even if they never go into robotics after high school. I know this whole article sounds like a blatant plug, but I can’t get over how advanced some of the robots I saw were.
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