Montgomery a kickoff site for 2008 robotics competition

By Katie Wagner, Staff Writer
   MONTGOMERY — While robots may not be invading Montgomery High School next month, the students who develop them will be out in force.
   The school is helping to kick off the 2008 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics Competition, an international program for high school students that involves building a robot from a kit of parts.
   Teams from 23 schools from central and southern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania will gather with Montgomery’s team Jan. 5 to listen to a broadcast from Manchester, N.H., of this year’s game rules, receive their specific kit of parts and participate in robotics workshops.
   Following the unveiling of this year’s rules, each team, composed of high school students and mentors, will have six weeks to create a robot that can accomplish specific tasks in a game format. The teams will then enter their robots in regional competitions with the goal of earning rankings sufficient to advance to the April world championship in Atlanta.
   This is Montgomery High School’s second year hosting one of the kickoffs, with an increase in the number of teams attending from the 17 last year. The workshops are a new component of the event.
   Montgomery is entering its fifth team in the competition. The team’s advisor and technology education teacher, Tim Leicht, has been involved with the program for nine years, having previously coached Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s team.
   ”The technology gets more and more sophisticated every year and we’re now using more sensors and technology than we were nine years ago,” Mr. Leicht said. “In the early days, the robots were simple machines. Over the nine years I’ve been involved with the competition, the amount of technology and software has grown dramatically.”
   Last year, Montgomery’s team earned the engineering inspiration award for promoting science and engineering in the community. It entered two regional competitions, placing 12th out of approximately 50 teams at both.
   This year, the high school’s team will enter three regional competitions, in New Jersey, Florida and New York.
   During the competitions each team’s robot will take part in eight to 10 rounds over three days. The robots will be expected to complete specific tasks, which in some instances will require working with other teams’ robots.
   Last year, for example, Montgomery’s robot had to pick up inner tubes and put them on racks of different heights.
   Mr. Leicht said a benefit of the program is that it teaches students engineering principles and engineering techniques that will hopefully encourage them work in the engineering field, adding that he’s already seen students who competed come back and work as team advisors after completing college engineering programs.
   Out of the 15 seniors in the program that graduated from Montgomery High School last year, nine enrolled in engineering schools and six others elected to pursue science-related fields, Mr. Leicht said.
   Approximately 60 students from grades nine to 12 will be working on Montgomery’s 2008 robot. The team members have been divided into sub-teams, including mechanical, design, electrical, programming, publicity, animation, fundraising and strategy.
   The unveiling of this year’s rules and other introductory announcements will begin at 10 a.m. on Jan. 5 with robotics workshops to follow. All events except the workshops are open to the public.
   The robotics competition was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, an inventor, entrepreneur and advocate for science and technology. It is a not-for-profit public charity based in Manchester, N.H.