Dec. 3: CLC to co-host FIRST®Tech Challenge robotics meet for middle- and high-school students

Fourteen middle- and high-school age teams will compete with their robots in a FIRST® Tech Challenge robotics meet 9:15 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3 at the College of Lake County's Grayslake Campus. The free event, which is open to the public, will take place in the Lower Level C Wing, on the campus' south side, at 19351 W. Washington St.

The event consists of several two-and-a-half minute matches, in which a pair of two-team alliances faces each other, with each team trying to score points by directing its robot to do tasks such as placing small balls into a goal. Each match consists of a 30-second autonomous period, in which the robot performs pre-programmed tasks by itself, followed by a two-minute, driver-controlled period.

The teams have been designing, building and testing their robots since late summer. Attendees can watch matches, get up close with the robots and ask questions of the team members.

Teams participating in the FIRSTTech Challenge are part of a northeastern Illinois league that includes Dynamic Signals, a Gurnee-based, high-school age team that is co-hosting the event with CLC. Teams from Chicago, Barrington and Lake Forest are among the other participants. Top teams qualify to state and regional competition, and the 2016-17 championship for Midwest teams is scheduled for St. Louis next April.

"We're excited to co-host this FIRSTTech Challenge meet for the first time," said Rob Twardock CLC engineering department chair. "The teams are guided by adult coaches and mentors, who help the students develop skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Besides learning engineering principles, such as keeping an engineering notebook, the students see the value of hard work, innovation and sharing ideas. The competitive nature of the event makes it fun, but students also learn a 'gracious professionalism' way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others and respects individuals and the community."

Besides the educational reward to students, Twardock said the event is designed to help the public appreciate the growing popularity of robotic technology, now present in products ranging from self-propelled vacuum cleaners used at home to robotic welders used in manufacturing cars.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a Manchester, N.H.-based non-profit founded in 1989 to inspire young people's interest and participation in science and technology. For details, visit www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc. For details on CLC's engineering and mechatronics programs, visit http://www.clcillinois.edu/programs/egr or http://www.clcillinois.edu/programs/arm.