FLL, or FIRST Lego League, is part of FIRST. FIRST is a non-profit organization that is
designed to 1) get kids into science and technology and 2) to teach them life
skills(such as teamwork and having fun while working hard) to use later in life. It has three levels-FLL, FTC, and FRC- but we’re
an FLL team. To learn more about FIRST,
check out their website at www.usfirst.org.
FLL is targeted
towards ages 9-14. The limit is 10 team
members on the team. FLL teams have to
build a robot made out of Legos, an NXT or EV3 Mindstorms brick, and NXT or EV3
Mindstorms motors/sensors. They then
have to program it to perform certain missions, also made out of Legos, and
score points. Teams also have to do a
research project corresponding with a topic that FIRST chooses for the season. They then have to go to a competition and
present that project, as well as other things (all of which will be discussed
later in this update).
The MISSIONS:
The missions are, as previously said,
built out of Legos and are fastened by Velcro to the issued mat. The mat is placed on an 8” by 4” piece of
particleboard.
The missions
correspond with the year’s theme. For instance,
this year’s theme is Nature’s Fury, and some of the missions are the supply
truck, the evacuation sign, and the cargo plane. We have to program our robot to go about the
mat performing missions. It is completely
autonomous (which means that it’s only programmed--no Bluetooth!).
The ROBOT:
The robot is made
of completely Lego, and only Lego. It is
not allowed to have any other materials on it.
The Lego Mindstorms brick controls the robot, and we are allowed to have
as many sensors as we want, as long as they are light sensors, color sensors,
or ultrasonic sensors. We are only
allowed to have four motors, however.
We can only touch
the robot inside a rectangle called base.
If the robot extends out of base or if we touch it outside of base, we
will get penalty points. We can have attachments, though. That means that we can build Lego
contraptions that the robot uses to perform the missions, attach them to the
third and fourth motor, and switch them out according to the needs of a
mission.
The RESEARCH
PROJECT:
The research
project is a project that we have to do that corresponds with a topic that
FIRST chooses for the season. For
instance, this year’s topic is Nature’s Fury.
We have to pick a community to focus on and choose a natural disaster
that affects that community. Then, after
we do extensive research, we pick a solution that improves either preparing,
staying safe, or rebuilding. After that,
we think of a creative way to present our research and solution (a skit, a
puppet show, a power-point presentation, etc).
The CORE VALUES:
The core values are
basically the most important things we learn in FLL. They’re our guidelines to how we act in FLL. The core values are as follows:
·
We are a
TEAM.
·
We do the
work to find solutions, with guidance from our coaches and mentors.
·
We honor
the spirit of friendly competition.
·
What we
discover is more important than what we win.
·
We share
our experiences with others.
·
We
display *gracious professionalism in
everything we do.
·
WE HAVE
FUN!
*Gracious Professionalism:
an FIRST term that is described as graciously and professionally helping
others, even when you’re competing against them, and learning while you’re
doing it.
The COMPETITION:
The competition is
where we (and other teams) go to show off what we learned. There are three judging sessions: the core
values, the research project, and the robot judging.
The core values
judging covers all that we learned during the season. The judges ask teams questions such as, “how
do you define gracious professionalism?”, “how did you use the core values in
your daily lives?”, and “how did you work together as a team?” That lasts for 5 minutes.
The research
project judging is when we present our topic in a creative way; we have 5
minutes to do it. Then the judges have 5
minutes to ask us questions.
The robot judging
is when we have 5 minutes to explain our robot, any changes we may have made
during the season (judges like that because that is what real mechanics do), and explain our programming, use of sensors,
etc. They then have 5 minutes to ask
questions and possibly have us run a mission for them.
In addition to the
judging, we also have three 2:30 minute robot runs in which we have our robot
perform the missions during upbeat music, an announcer, and cheering
“fans”. There can only be two teammates
at a time, but they can switch out during the run.
After the
competition is almost through, the announcer hands out the awards!
Our TEAM:
Our team has 8 members, five boys and
three girls: Beej-14, Badger-13, Sierra-13, Hazel-13, Flybird-12, Zake-11, and
Essie-8.
-Sierra and Hazel
