The LigerBots won the Gracious Professionalism award last week at the FIRST District Qualifying Event at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Johnson & Johnson sponsors this award at each FIRST Robotics event to recognize the team best exemplifying the principles of FIRST–fairness, humility, sharing, and persevering–and a winning attitude. The judges at WPI noted that “Gracious Professionalism can be used in any aspect of life, not just at a FIRST competition.” Citing the op-ed column the LigerBots wrote last year on good sportsmanship and respect, the judges said, “This team is what FIRST is all about. No matter if they are on the playing field, or out in the community, ‘working together’ is the theme of this team.”

The LigerBots  after the WPI competition

The LigerBots steampunk pit at the WPI competition

This was our first competition of the 2017 season, and these early competitions provide an opportunity to test the robot ways that are simply impossible during the short schedule for designing and building. On day one of the competition, we observed our robot and others to figure out what strategies and design mechanics were most effective in competition. We identified our own design flaws, then worked overnight to pinpoint and correct those flaws. That resulted in our robot’s first competitive climb up a Velcro rope for bonus points on the second day. The team returned to Newton with a list of items that need work before we compete at Bryant University in Rhode Island March 25 and 26. All are welcome to come watch and cheer!

A LigerBot sends our robot up a Velcro rope on our alliance’s “airship”

Right after the competition, we jumped  back into doing outreach, starting with an appearance at the Boston STEM Fair. The event, held at the Arsenal Project in Watertown, seeks to track families with kids who are interested in STEM and teach them about different organizations. It was a crowded venue, filled with people from many different communities and of different ages, and our 2016 robot received a warm reception. The team taught kids about how it works while letting them control the robot, and spoke to families about how they could get involved in robotics.

LigerBots demonstrating the 2016 robot to some kids

We are excited for our next competition, and we will be participating in several outreach events in late March and in April, including Robo Madness, Bowen Elementary Science Day, and the Science Carnival & Robot Zoo at the Cambridge Science Festival.