Millburn Students' Prize Robot Stolen During Competition: Report

MILLBURN, NJ — They headed out to a state championship robotics competition with high hopes, knowing that they’d face a stiff challenge from their talented competitors. But what the Millburn High School Robotics team didn’t count on was having their prized robot stolen during the middle of the competition.

According to reports, that’s what happened during the MHS robotics team’s recent trip to the 2017 VEX World Robotics Competition.

The student-run team – now in its second and “most successful year” - won six out of their eight competitions during 2016-17, and was primed to compete on the world stage during this year’s VEX competition in Louisville, Kentucky.

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To help share the cost of transporting the team and its gear to Kentucky, the MHS students teamed up with their peers in Tinton Falls and Summit who were also headed to the event, sharing storage space in a common trailer.

That trailer was eventually stolen on April 22 while it was parked near the competition in Kentucky, right in the middle of the tournament, according to school officials.

• See related article: Robots Stolen From Ranney School Robotics Program

The Summit-based Robot Revolution lost nine robots in all, a value of nearly $20,000. Millburn High lost one robot and the Tinton Falls-based Ranney School teams lost three robots, as well as valuable parts, totaling around $12,000.

• See related article: Millburn High School Robotics Team Wins NJ Championship Tournament

Photo: GoFundMe

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