The Future of Robotics

The rate of change in the world seems like it has accelerated dramatically in the last year.

While living in the midst of a global pandemic, we have added to our language with words like “social distance,” “bubbles,” and “pods.” These new terms are now a part of our daily lives. We’ve had to change the way we work and learn. Being flexible and adaptable are now skills that are in high demand. So as we try to find some sense of normalcy, we realize that the way we have always done things may no longer be effective under our current restrictions. Robotics competitions are no exception.

FIRST® Robotics Competitions combine the excitement of sport with the thought-provoking rigor of science, technology, sales and marketing.

In the past, each season started with a kickoff event where a new, challenging game was unveiled. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the competition needed to be revised and reimagined. And yes, another new word has been added to our vocabulary: Coopertition® – where teams are encouraged to display gracious professionalism®, help other teams and cooperate while competing.

Our very own Team Lance-A-Bot will take part in a series of three new challenges where teams compete from “home” in a virtual environment:

The Infinite Recharge
Rather than building a new model, teams will use their current robot to participate in a series of skills challenges.

The Game Design Challenge
Teams are asked to design a FIRST® Robotics Competition and compete for awards. Winning game designs may be used in future competitions.

The FIRST Innovation Challenge
Teams are asked to identify a real-world problem and devise an innovative solution to address that issue.

Lakeshore’s Robotics Team will be learning skills that are critical to success in life. They are moving from a sport-mindset to a solution-mentality.

Yes, ideas and implementation have always been a part of the robotics requirements, but with the addition of the Innovation Challenge, students will learn that consumers don’t just buy technologies. They pay for solutions to their problems. By participating in this process that takes an idea from a concept and transforms it into a life-changing, productive application, our student participants are experiencing the future, today.

The Lakeshore Excellence Foundation is a proud supporter of Lakeshore’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) curriculum and educational experiences like robotics.