Mount Prospect robotics team aims for world title

The Lincoln Middle School Lego Robotics Team - also known as Lincoln Shrimp Strike Back - received recognition this month from the Mount Prospect village board for earning the chance to compete in World Robotics Championship in Detroit this weekend.

It will be the team's second straight appearance in the world championships.

"They are not only overachievers, they are the top of the overachievers," coach David Roe told the village board.

The robotics team was created to introduce students to real-life engineering and science research, encourage out-of-the-box thinking, and foster self confidence, time management, communication, teamwork and leadership. The squad is coached by Roe and Ken Brey.

At the state competition in January, team members took first place for Robot Performance and won the Champions Award. At the same competition, Lincoln's other Robotics team, Apollo 493, won the first place Project Innovative Solution Award.

More than 100 teams from more than 80 countries will compete in the World Robotics Championship. The four-day event will draw 10,000 team members and 40,000 spectators.

Last year, the Lincoln team won 17th place overall in Robot Performance.

This year, the Lincoln Shrimp Strike Back team created a shrimp-growing tank that would provide food for astronauts in long-duration space travel.

To develop it, the team traveled across Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky, visiting shrimp research facilities and commercial shrimp farms. They also conducted research with the National Aquaculture Association, NASA astronauts, the head NASA Nutritionist and the Kentucky State University Department of Aquaculture.

The Shrimp Strike Back team even has obtained a provisional patent for its invention.