Robots go head to head in regional competition

By Emily Richmond

Friday, April 1, 2005 | 9:43 a.m.

Tad made his competitive debut Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center, and his Rancho High School classmates said it was a strong start for the rookie robot.

"Tad is going to deliver," said Rancho freshman Michael Sausa, a member of the school's robotics teams that built the 5-foot high contraption of metal and electronics. "We're feeling supremely confident."

Rancho is up against high schools from as far away as Hawaii in the Las Vegas Regional of the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, or FIRST, Robotics Competition.

"Tad" stands for "Tetra Accumalation Device," a reference to the robot's primary objective; picking up 3-foot tall pyramids made of plastic tubing and placing them over a goal post in order to earn points.

Established in 1989 by NASA and a coalition of public agencies and private sector businesses, the FIRST Robotics Competition draws 20,000 students from 38 countries annually. The competition is open to the public and continues today until 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center.

This is the first time the regional competition has been held in Las Vegas. Thirty-eight teams are competing, and the winner will have the chance to compete at the nationals later this year in Atlanta.

Don Yanzer, a computer science teacher at Rancho High School and the robotics team's advisor, said his students were off to a good start. Amanda Moran, a freshman at Rancho, agreed.

"The practice session went a lot better than we thought it would," Moran said. "I'm feeling optimistic about our chances tomorrow but some of those robots out there are awesome."

Even for veteran teams, like Washington State's Corvallis High School, the competition was daunting.

"We have to work hard to be even more awesome than we already are," said Max Masnick, a senior at Corvallis which is in its sixth year of participation in FIRST Robotics. "Of course, we have a secret weapon."

The "secret weapon" is a second extendable arm that towers over the rest of the entries, said Drew Lesnik, also a member of the Corvallis team.

"'Just by itself our robot is as good as anyone out there," said Lesnik, gesturing to the competition ring set up on the main floor of the Thomas & Mack Center. "With the extra arm, we're unstoppable."

While such modifications aren't forbidden, competition organizers said there are strict rules governing conduct by both students and their creations.

"Inappropriate robotic behavior is unacceptable," said Ian Lao, in his fourth year serving as a referee for the competition. "That includes excessive ramming and pinning."

Lao, an engineer from Chandler, Ariz., said he didn't expect to see such tactics, at least not during Thursday's practice sessions.

"It's in the semi-finals and finals on Saturday that the gloves come off," Lao said.

Teams can be docked points and even disqualified for excessive offensive tactics, Lao said.

"Sometimes it's not intentional," Lao said. "The driver (the student operating the robot) may get tunnel vision about reaching the goal and it's up to their teammates and the rest of the alliance to keep an eye out for problems."

Each team is provided with the same parts and electronics and given six weeks to build a robot that will complete a specific task. Once they arrive at the competition teams grouped into "alliances," each with three schools. The alliances, designated as red and blue, then compete against each other.

"You can tell the rookie teams because they have much simpler designs that are equally successful at obtaining the objective," Lao said. "The more experienced teams have more robust designs that can take a beating and the kids will have more sophisticated offensive strategies."

For Dave Patterson of the Alaska Robotics Education Association it's as much about the process as it is about the end result.

"The kids learn teamwork, how to think outside the box and problem solving skills," said Patterson, who accompanied two Alaskan high schools tothe regionals. "From a box of parts to a working robot in six weeks is no easy task."