Imagine the excitement generated by 33 teams of high school students guiding their programmed and carefully tested robots into spirited competition in a gym packed with cheering spectators. That was the scene that unfolded on the Pleasantville campus on Sunday, January 29.
For the third consecutive year, the Seidenberg School hosted the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), an exciting all-day robotics tournament for high school students from the Hudson Valley region. The tournament requires that students build, program and test their robots to meet the challenges set out in a game that changes each year. This year’s challenge was Bowled Over!
Participating teams compete for prizes in a variety of categories ranging from design to inspiration. This year, Robots and Brain Bots, Inc. from Waltham, Massachusetts (the only team not from the Hudson Valley) earned the automatic right to compete in the World Championship to be held in St. Louis, Missouri in April as the winner of the Inspire Award. The Suffern Syborgs 2, a team from Suffern, New York and captain of the Winning Alliance, the next in line with the highest tournament ranking, also received an invitation to the World Championship.
FTC is a tremendous, year-round undertaking. It would not have been possible without the outstanding leadership of Professor Richard Kline and Associate Dean Bernice Houle, who served as program coordinators, and the many other volunteers who make the day the success that it has become.