Fans rock as robots roll at high school competition

The announcer's voice thundered inside the Tacoma convention hall, as rock music played.

Students leapt from bleachers, screamed and cheered to support their favorite competitors.

For their part, the competitors looked stiff, but they raised their arms, knocked over large balls and scooped them up. Others zoomed around a playing field, occasionally running into one another.

Not a single one waved to acknowledge the young crowd Friday, but that was not a problem. The competitors were student-created, remote-controlled machines at the Seattle Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.

"Our goal is to get kids inspired," said Kevin Ross, a spokesman for the New Hampshire-based group For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

The first day of the event, which Microsoft Corp. sponsored by giving $150,000, drew about 2,000 people, including an estimated 1,300 high school students.

Participants came from Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and British Columbia, Ross said, adding that teamwork and respect are stressed.

"These are the kids who in high school aren't celebrated like the football team," he said. "Here, they're rock stars."

And some knowledgeable ones at that.

Some students rattled off details about hydraulics and throw force.

Others talked about spending six weeks to build their robots and collaborating with adult mentors and other students to create their machines.

Students from Bellevue's International School named their robot Mnemosyne after the Greek goddess of memory.

"This teaches the love of innovation," said Erik Thulin, an 18-year-old student at the school.

"We put all our heads together," said Rachel Gebhart, 16, another International student.

In the main hall, students stood behind plastic windows and operated their robots, which measured 3 by 3 feet. They stood up to 5 feet in height and weighed a maximum of about 120 pounds.

Teams earned points by knocking 10-pound red or blue balls from an overhead shelf or picking them up and moving them around the field.

One reason the event caught Microsoft's attention is that the United States lacks qualified people to fill open engineering positions, sponsors said.

"Competitions like this are a tremendous motivator, so students can get excited about science and mathematics," said Tandy Trower, general manager of the Microsoft robotics group.

"It's bringing the application of technology into the world in a practical way."

		Dan DeLong / P-I
	Robotics teams earned points by using their machines to knock balls from a shelf or to pick the balls up and move them around the field.

In a work area dubbed the "pit," students crawled under their machines, which had exposed chain drives and coiled wires.

"We have to listen to each other but we have to be decisive," said Taylor Nesheim, a 17-year-old Lynnwood High School student who operated his team's robot.

"It's exciting but nerve-wracking. But you get into it."

Mike Sinclair, a Microsoft employee, advised a team that included students from Franklin High School in Seattle.

He was pleased to see students apply the math that they learned in classes to a real-life project.

One refrain he heard from students was: "Oh, I never thought I'd use this."

As her teenage son stood by her, Bellevue parent Marianne Kersten, 49, watched the action unfold.

"I think this is fantastic for students to explore," she said.

Some parents sat on chairs outside the competition hall and talked about how their children have matured because of the teamwork.

But a few acknowledged that the decibel level in the hall was just too loud for their adult ears.

SATURDAY'S COMPETITION