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Programmed For Success

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Energy Elites Andrew Argudo age 12, prepares to release his team's LEGO robot to complete a task as judges look on during competition of the Blind Pirates Challenage at the Power Puzzle Quest First Lego League (FLL) State Qualifying Robotics Tournament at Armwood

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By LAURA FRAZIER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 19, 2008

Additional Photos

SEFFNER - The gymnasium at Armwood High School was transformed into a kinetic playground, where scores of energized youngsters and their robotic minions deployed satellite solar panels, erected windmills on desert power farms and airlifted hulking barrels of oil from a rig in the middle of the ocean.

Twenty teams of boys and girls ages 9 to 14 from the Tampa Bay area and across the state competed Jan. 12 in the First LEGO League Robotics Tournament, the program's largest state-qualifying meet in Florida this year.

Each September, the LEGO Group's international technology program issues its annual edict to tech-savvy kids eager to conduct scientific research and build original robots. The young scientists use LEGO MINDSTORMS technologies and materials, which can be used to build anything from alarm systems to smart robots that follow trails and circumvent obstacles.

Students work alongside adult mentors for months to gear up for the high-energy competition. Each team builds a robot and completes a separate research project, this year with a goal of solving an ecological problem. Winners progress to an international contest in spring, to be held this year in Georgia.

This year's challenge, Power Puzzle Quest, asked teams of young techies to explore how energy production and consumption choices might affect the planet and the human population's quality of life today, tomorrow and far into the future.

The competition is judged in five categories: research and presentation, robot performance, technical mechanics of the robot's construction, teamwork and gracious professionalism.

The morning of the competition, the event's sponsoring team, the Darth Panthers 2.10 from Lomax Elementary Magnet School in Tampa, rallied around the staging table to cheer on their peers. Guided by the children, the pint-sized robots traversed a three-dimensional obstacle course studded with simulated ecological challenges.

Meanwhile, the Energy Elites, four friends who attend an after-school program at TechPlayzone in Riverview and competed as a team, presented their research project to judges.

The team chose to perform an energy audit on the Campo Family YMCA building on Culbreath Road in Valrico.

Speaking to the judges, Ryan Kehrmeyer, a third-grader at Alafia Elementary School, said, "We chose to audit the YMCA because it has many energy challenges, and the whole community could benefit from our solutions."

Ryan and his teammates, Cimino Elementary School fourth-grader Andrew Argudo, Burns Middle School sixth-grader Daryl Bagley and Mulrennan Middle School student Ian Phillips, took turns reading their findings from cue cards and answering judges' questions on the fly. "The building services director at the Y told us they spend over $11,000 a month from June to September on air conditioning to cool the building," Ryan said.

The boys came up with several possible solutions to reduce energy consumption. During their research, while they waited on a bench near the building's main entrance to meet with the director and staff, they noticed cool air rushing out the door every time patrons walked in or out.

They suggested a revolving door or a wind curtain at the entrance would help keep cool air in. Awnings over large windows throughout the facility would help keep the building cool, too. The group also shed light on another energy expense they determined was excessive and unnecessary.

"We counted 243 light fixtures in the building," Daryl said. "It's not a library or some place where you would need that much light. If they only used half of the lights, and if they changed their ballasts to the kind that produces less heat, they could save about $500 a year, and it would not affect customer satisfaction."

Daryl's mother and the team coach, Desh Bagley, owner of TechPlayzone, said, "You can have up to 10 to a team, so we're small, but we've done a lot of work. It has really helped them make good energy choices and think about alternatives."

The Gadget Girls, members of Girl Scout Troop 1159 at Nativity Catholic School in Brandon, won the award for best robot programming.

Coach Caroline Staffopoulos said the girls kept their robot simple and effective by building fewer arms that could multitask.

"One of the attachments they came up with executed four different functions. Their theory was: Why clog up the robot's brain with more than it needed?" Staffopoulos said.

The coach was proud of her team's win, but she said it wasn't all about the robots.

"With girls this age, with the whole journey into puberty, they start getting shy and a little awkward," she said. "This competition just pushed all that aside. They were loud and proud."

The Hammerheads, a group of home-schooled students from Lake County, took home the competition's highest honor. The Superintendent's Award is given to the team that best exemplifies the spirit and values of the program.

Hammerheads coach Dawn Carpenter said the team was composed of children from four families and supported by several older siblings who have tournament experience.

Heather White, 16, competed with the group in three previous competitions and served this year as a mentor.

The team studied energy use around the home. In addition to recommending the use of energy-efficient washing machines that could save the average household more than $100 a year, the team touted a revolutionary new building material designed to be eco- and energy-friendly.

"We found out about denim insulation in National Geographic magazine," White said. "They take old jeans and shred them and use it for insulation in the walls. It's really energy efficient, and it doesn't mold or mildew."

Team member Audrey Carpenter, 9, added, "And it's not itchy like regular insulation."

Throughout the day, until winners were announced about 5 p.m., tournament director Rich Berglund hustled through the school's hallways and stairwells to ensure everything was running smoothly.

Berglund, whose son Nick is a fifth-grader at Lomax and a member of the sponsoring team, said his first year as volunteer director was a lot of work - but worth it. Sponsoring teams that organize and host tournaments automatically qualify for the state competition.

"Right here today, we have the future engineers and scientists that will go on to Stanford and MIT," Berglund said. "This program allows kids who excel in math, science and technology to participate in a sporting-type event to display their skills. Today, these guys are the stars."

WINNERS

FIRST PLACE SUPERINTENDENT'S AWARD

Hammerheads

Lake County

RESEARCH QUALITY

Black Nights

Orlando

CREATIVE PRESENTATION

Rockin' RoboChicks

Riverview

TEAMWORK

R2-D2 Firedroids

Lakeland

ROBOT PROGRAMMING

Gadget Girls

Riverview

ROBOT PERFORMANCE

Shark Bytes

Venice

ROOKIE TEAM

RoboPanthers

Hillsborough County

JUDGES AWARD

RoboChicks6

Riverview

TEAM SPIRIT

Short Circuits

Hillsborough County

AGAINST ALL ODDS AWARD

Hardrive

Hillsborough County

FLORIDA STATE QUALIFIERS

Gadget Girls, Hammerheads, R2-D2 Firedroids, Energy Elites, RoboChicks6, Darth Panthers 2.10.

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523 or lfrazier@tampatrib.com.

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