Tri-Valley Robotics Club Qualifies for World Championships

TRI-VALLEY ROBOTICS TEAM QUALIFIES FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

· Students Advance Following Competitions Putting Custom-Built Robot to the Test

· Team focused on STEM education formed only two years ago wins multiple awards

Livermore, CA - System Overload Robotics received regional recognition by qualifying in the Monterey Bay Regional FIRST ® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition at Seaside High School on March 22-24, 2019. With their achievement, the team qualified for a spot at the FIRST Championship, to be held April 17-20, 2019 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

“This team is truly a example of how perseverance pays off in both technical and leadership successes,” stated Dr. Phillip Weiss, the team’s Boy Scouts of America Explorer Post Advisor. “From a team that rebuilt itself only two years ago to now, winning a slot at this international competition is a dream come true for everyone involved. Students and mentors put in thousands of hours to successfully complete at this level. System Overload Robotics and our sponsor, Robot Garden, are proud to represent Livermore and the Tri-Valley community in leading STEM education efforts for our youth.”

System Overload Robotics (FIRST® Robotics Competition Team #6059) is comprised of 20 students and mentors from throughout the Tri-Valley area. Chartered by the local makerspace community Robot Garden, the team meets all year but gets only six weeks to design, build, and test a robot that performs multiple tasks all using the team’s own programming and manufacturing skills. Not only do the students design a robot, they also learn project management, mathematics, marketing, leadership and computer-aided design (CAD) skills along the way.

System Overload Robotics is dedicated to STEM education throughout the Tri-Valley area. In recent activity, the team exhibited their skills at the Livermore Public Library, and last year’s Tri-Valley Innovation Fair among others.

Team Marketing Lead Blanchard Kenfack, a senior at Granada High School, stated, “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on this team as System Overload has helped me grow as an engineer, businessman, student, and as a person over the last 4 years I hope to continue on this team and not only watch it succeed, but have a place in ensuring that others are afforded the same opportunity.”

In addition to winning a coveted slot to compete in the FIRST Championship, the team also won the FIRST Monterey Bay Regional Safety Award for their work in promoting mental and physical health safety through a personal hydration campaign. This campaign helped to ensure the safety of the hundreds of participants and spectators attending the competition by encouraging them all to keep personally hydrated.

Now that the team is qualified to attend the prestigious international competition, they are now focused on fundraising the nearly $20,000 needed to register, travel to, and compete at the event in Houston, Texas. They have started several fundraising campaigns and are looking to promote local Tri-Valley businesses through sponsorships. To support the team, you may contact them through email at sor.frc6059@gmail.com or by visiting their website at www.frc6059.com.

The System Overload Robotics vision is to educate the next generation of youth in STEM principles by pushing the bounds of science, technology, engineering, and math. The team operates as an Explorer Post of the Boy Scouts of America chartered by the makerspace group Robot Garden. Their mission is to create a long-standing FIRST® robotics program that assists even younger students in competitions, helping young students learn real-life skills and techniques. To learn more about System Overload Robotics, go to www.frc6059.com.

Robot Garden is a community workshop providing infrastructure so that people can engage in and collaborate on technology projects. It promotes innovation and interest in science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) by using robotics and creative or artistic projects to inspire and educate. To learn more about Robot Garden, go to www.robotgarden.org.

About FIRST® -- Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. FIRST encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.firstinspires.org.

Anyone interested in joining any level of Scouting can contact the Twin Valley District Executive, Matt Lindberg, matt.lindberg@scouting.org.