by Dave Taflin, Tecplot Sr. Software Development Engineer
Tecplot, Inc. is once again sponsoring the King’s High School robotics team, the Cyberknights (team 4911), in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC).
This week they are in the thick of a frantic 6-week design and build period, at the end of which, they must cease work and package up the robot they have produced.
The competitions that follow will determine whether they advance to the district championship, and ultimately the world championship, which will be held at the end of April in St. Louis, Missouri. The team includes about 40 King’s students, coached by teacher Mike Thompson, and mentored by technical professionals from local companies such as Boeing, Microsoft and Electroimpact.
Highest Rookie Seed Award
Last year, the team had the distinction of advancing to the world competition and were the only rookie team to compete in the elimination round. They were eliminated in the Semifinals of the Archimedes division and received the Highest Rookie Seed award. They hope to make it to worlds again this year.
FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” was founded by Segway inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. It attracts teams from all over the world and includes competitions for all ages:
- K-3: Junior FIRST Lego League
- 4-8: FIRST Lego League
- 7-12: The FIRST Tech Challenge
- 9-12: FIRST Robotics Competition
A high school robotics team is featured in just-released movie “Spare Parts,” starring Jamie Lee Curtis, George Lopez, Carlos PenaVega and Marisa Tomei.”
