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Three LTU-sponsored FIRST Robotics teams in world championships

April 20, 2023

SOUTHFIELD–Three teams sponsored by Lawrence Technological University are competing in the world championships of FIRST Robotics this week in Houston, Texas.

Included among the 600 teams competing are the Hackbots of the Farmington Public Schools, the Birmingham Brother Rice / Marian High School Mech Warriors, and the Auburn Hills Avondale RoboJackets.

“You have 600 teams competing, but I think we’ve got as good a chance as anybody,” said Steve Trachsel, coach of the Farmington team.

In FIRST Robotics, students build, program, and remote-control robots designed to score points in a game that changes every year to keep the competition fresh. In this year’s game, called Charged Up, robots must move traffic cones and inflated cubes into various positions on a competition field, earning bonus points for various combinations and the engagement of robots with base stations.

Lisa Savage, lead mentor on the Brother Rice / Marian team, said FIRST Robotics “changed the course of my life. I was a student in the program 20 year ago, and it changed my viewpoint on engineering,” she said. “I had never picked up a tool in my life, I didn’t even know what engineering was., But FRIRST got me really excited about engineering, and I couldn’t let go of it. It’s a great program for sure.”

Savage would go on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the University of Michigan, and is now safety technical lead for self-driving cars and automated driver assistance systems for Aptiv. an Irish-American automotive technology developer.

Savage said LTU has long helped the team with access to construction equipment like water jet cutters and machine tools, but “this year there was an additional money sponsorship as well. We’re really grateful for LTU’s support. It’s a great program for sure.”

Trachsel expressed similar feelings about FIRST and LTU’s sponsorship–including a kickoff event for the game unveiling held at LTU–and added that in competition, “some years it’s obvious which robots are superior, but this year isn’t like that. With this game there’s a lot of parity in the competition.”

FIRST, an acronym for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, was founded in 1989 to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. Based in Manchester, N.H., the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills.

Under strict rules, limited resources, and the guidance of volunteer mentors including engineers, teachers, business professionals, parents, alumni and more, teams of 25 or more students have just a few weeks to build and program robots to perform challenging tasks against field of competitors. They must also raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and perform community outreach. In addition to learning valuable STEM and life skills, participants are eligible to apply for more than $25 million in college scholarships.

» Document Viewer

Use Your Cell Phone as a Document Camera in Zoom

  • What you will need to have and do
  • Download the mobile Zoom app (either App Store or Google Play)
  • Have your phone plugged in
  • Set up video stand phone holder

From Computer

Log in and start your Zoom session with participants

From Phone

  • Start the Zoom session on your phone app (suggest setting your phone to “Do not disturb” since your phone screen will be seen in Zoom)
  • Type in the Meeting ID and Join
  • Do not use phone audio option to avoid feedback
  • Select “share content” and “screen” to share your cell phone’s screen in your Zoom session
  • Select “start broadcast” from Zoom app. The home screen of your cell phone is now being shared with your participants.

To use your cell phone as a makeshift document camera

  • Open (swipe to switch apps) and select the camera app on your phone
  • Start in photo mode and aim the camera at whatever materials you would like to share
  • This is where you will have to position what you want to share to get the best view – but you will see ‘how you are doing’ in the main Zoom session.