A local robotics team made up of 6 students from 3 area high schools is one of just three Florida teams that will advance to the world competition in Houston in late April. The team, known as Java the Hutts, designed, built, and programmed a robot. It took them at least 300 hours of work, they say.
In the statewide competition, 49 teams built robots that could accomplish the same task.
“This year, we need to have our robot pick up these white whiffle balls and these 2 by 2 by 2 yellow cubes,” said team member Quin Konicek, a 10th grader at Bonita Springs High School. Other students on the team are from Fort Myers and Dunbar high schools.
In addition to building the robot, the team had a goal to spread the good word about STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. To do that, they participated in more than thirty outreach activities at all sorts of community events like state fairs. In preparation for the World Competition, they have three goals, they say: continue to encourage other students to become involved with robotics, raise money so they and other teams can get to the competition, and always keep improving their robot.
“We want to really upgrade our robot. We’re going to be competing with the best teams all over the world. And so we can’t just stop with the best robot in the state. We have to keep on moving forward and advancing our robot, making things lighter, faster, stronger, more efficient,” Quin Konicek said.
The World Competition takes place April 20-23.
