Third FLL Tournament

On November 11th, 2018 Cupertino Robotics hosted its third annual First Lego League tournament at Cupertino High School. As the emcee at the tournament, I was able to experience fun and excitement at the competition first hand. This year, Cupertino Robotics held a dual tournament with two competitions of 16 teams each running simultaneously. Though it required more planning and effort, the overall event was a great success where teams were able to compete while embracing values such as gracious professionalism and coopertition.

Over the past few months, Cupertino Robotics FLL mentors worked closely with their teams to build robots for the Into Orbit Challenge. The challenge is set in space where students have to accomplish a set of missions with their robot in a given time to gain points. Aside from the challenge, the teams were challenged to research and develop a solution to aid astronauts during prolonged space travel. One of FIRST’s major goals is to give students the opportunity to work hands on with a robot, but also understand the real world applications that this technology can have.

During the build season, the three teams at Cupertino Robotics met twice a week after school to work on the robot and the research project. Under the guidance of the high school mentors, these teams had the right resources to bring their ideas to life and thoroughly understand the technology they were working with. The competition was a memorable experience for all the teams and provided the students with a sense of accomplishment.

Written By: Shivani Sahni

Photo Courtesy by Michelle Pan & Shivani Sahni