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Smith
School has been involved with the FIRST (For
Inspiration and Recognition of Science and
Technology) LEGO League for the past four years.
FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is an international
program for children ages 9-14. It
combines a hands-on, interactive robotics program
and a research presentation with a sports-like
atmosphere. Teams consist of up to 10 members and
focus on such things as team building, problem
solving, creativity, and analytical thinking.
Each
September robotics teams around the world are faced
with an annual Challenge. The Challenge is based on
a set of real-world problems facing scientists
today. It has two parts: a robot game and a project.
In the robot game teams design, build, program,
and test autonomous robots that must perform a
series of tasks, or missions. In the project, teams
conduct research and create a technological or
engineering solution to an aspect of the Challenge
and present that solution.
Each spring at Smith school interested fourth
graders are invited to learn about the program. In
the fall, fifth grade students are selected to be
part of the team.
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CONGRATULATIONS
POWER SURGERS! |
Smith's Power Surgers won the "Single Run Specialist"
Award on Saturday at the local robotics competition at
the local FIRST LEGO League competition. This
award earned them the coveted "Golden Ticket" to move on
to the State Championship Tournament. At that
tournament, held at CCSU on December 9th, the Power
Surgers won a third place trophy for "Robust
Programming". Way to go!!
Smith's Power Surgers are a First LEGO League team under
the direction of Quest teacher Kathy Hardesty. Their
mission is to fulfill a two-part FLL Power Puzzle
Challenge concerned with energy and the effects of
energy choices:
1) A robotics component that involves programming LEGO
robots to perform a series of tasks (click here for more
information);
2) A field analysis component. The Power Surgers
conducted a research project on energy use at West
Hartford Town Hall. Together with engineers from Otis
Elevator Company the team will project the amount of
electricity that would be saved, based on their analysis
of current usage at Town Hall, by using an alternative
"regenerative" elevator system.
The 2007 FIRST LEGO Power Puzzle challenge is about
understanding the elements of energy use in a world
that uses more and more energy every day. The
team has two major jobs to complete in the contest.
1. Robotics:
The team's other
challenge was to build and program their NXT robot
to accomplish as many of the twelve missions on the
playing field in a two and a
half minute period as possible. The robot must
start in middle box (called base) and return back
after completing missions. Examples of
missions are moving a solar panel, lowering a
satellite's panel, getting a loaded coal car to roll
down the railroad tracks and moving oil barrels off
of an oil platform.
Click
here to see a full report of the missions.
2.
The Research Project:
The
team must select a building in the community and
evaluate the energy use. Our team selected the
West Hartford Town Hall building.
 
The
students must talk to experts and propose solutions
to reduce consumption or move toward alternative
energy use. The students contacted engineers
at Otis Elevator Company. They are working on
a new "regenerative" elevator that has the ability
to bring electricity back into the building's power
grid as the elevator descends on down runs.
 
Following this presentation, Smith students went to
the town hall and counted the number of passengers
going up and down the elevators for a specific time.
Otis will help them estimate the energy use of the
elevators and predict how much energy the new
elevators would save.
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