Community Robotics Team Wins Runner Up At International Event

GREENDALE, WI — Greendale Community Robotics Team ALIEN won runner up in an international competition for their product meant to help wheelchair users in difficult terrain, the team leader told Patch.

The team was selected as one of 20 teams that advanced to the international FIRST Tech Challenge. Team ALIEN's invention was meant for wheelchairs, especially in the winter. The team won runner up in the global competition, a news release from FIRST said.

Team ALIEN's invention is a set of wheelchair covers that enhance traction and can be clipped on or off in moments, according to the team's finalist description. The wheel covers do not require any tools to install and are easily removed or attached by the wheelchair user, the description said.

FIRST, a robotics community founded by Dean Kamen in 1989, brings teams together from across the world to compete in challenges.

Submissions were judged according to its design, business model, level of innovation, pitch quality and overall impact, according to a news release from FIRST.

Greendale Community Robotics took runner up at the event for its wheelchair invention.

"We knew that we felt pretty isolated staying inside during COVID, and we realized that many people who use wheelchairs experience this kind of isolation every winter," ALIEN team member Ava Scheuer said about the invention.

A three-day virtual event stood as the final award ceremony for the challenge. A team from Fort Meyers Florida took first place with their invention of a radio device that can aid the blind.