Jessica Russo frowned at the miniature motor to which she was fitting a tiny wheel. <\/p>\n
\"I need one of those little green things,\" she announced to her four teammates. <\/p>\n
\"Once you are on the table? You can't change the code,\" interjected mentor and coach, Rodrigo Dillon. \"So set it up exactly the way you want it.\" <\/p>\n
That would be the way some 255,000 students on 35,000 teams worldwide also want it: a robot built and programmed to push a cart or pick up an object - each task requiring a different computer coding that makes it all happen. <\/p>\n
Russo and her team wanted the robot to lift and move a two-inch plastic container holding a toy over rough terrain without tipping over, then ... the team isn't sure what next. They haven't decided what that will be yet. <\/p>\n
Elizabeth Roberts\/Staff photo <\/p>\n
The 30 members of the 4-H Tech Wizards Robotics Club in Deerfield Beach - and 32,000 other teams in 88 countries - will soon compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition, an international competition that introduces students to the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math. <\/p>\n
Tasks are assigned nationally with teams work independently for six weeks, designing and building a robot capable of finding, transporting, using and disposing of water in some way. <\/p>\n
The Deerfield team has various levels of experience. Dana Greenland, 10, a Quiet Waters Elementary fifth grader, built a \"really large Lego ship.\" Zane Deblaker, who is home schooled, also built a Lego house. <\/p>\n
Mentor David Guzman said after it organized as a 4-H club in 2015, it expanded to include not just high school students, but middle and elementary school students as well. <\/p>\n
The club has evolved after competing in the FIRST Robotics competition 14 years ago. <\/p>\n
When this year's challenge is released at noon on Aug. 29, the team will be waiting for this the task at hand. <\/p>\n
\"Baseball has the farm system where they progress kids to the minor leagues,\" said mentor Andrew Disbury. \"This is the same thing for robotics. <\/p>\n
The 4-H Tech Wizards Robotics Club meets from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sundays, at the Hillsboro Community Center in Deerfield Beach. For information, call 954-571-7550. <\/p>\n
eroberts@sun-sentinel.com<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Continue reading here: <\/p>\n Local robotics club preps for international competition - Sun Sentinel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jessica Russo frowned at the miniature motor to which she was fitting a tiny wheel. \"I need one of those little green things,\" she announced to her four teammates. \"Once you are on the table? Continue reading