What is FLL?
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 only, an NXT Mindstorms brick, and NXT 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 Senior (as in people over 50) Solutions, moving colored quilt blocks, picking up "medicine bottles", and "bowling". Our robot has to be programmed
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 three motors, however.
The robot has to
be a specified length, height, and width. If it expands beyond its boundaries, we will
get disqualified from the competition.
We can have attachments,
though. That means that we can build
Lego thingamabob (for lack of a better word; it has been said that it is a technical word, though), attach
them to the third motor, and switch them out according to the needs of a
mission. In case you were wondering, here is a picture of our present robot (WARNING: Appearance subject to change):
 |
| Current model: Taken by Annabeth |
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 Senior Solutions. We have to pick a problem that has to do with
making life for seniors better. Then,
after we do extensive research, we pick a solution. 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 FLL 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 judging, the research project judging, and the robot judging.
The core values
judging covers all that we learned during the season. The judges ask teams questions such as
“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 (if we go over time, the judges may cut us off or, if they’re
especially interested, they may let us go ahead and go overtime). 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 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, but they can
switch out during the run.
After the
competition is almost through, the announcer hands out the awards!
Teamwork Award: The judges decide which team has expressed the most teamwork throughout the competition.
Strategy and Innovation Award: Having a unique or innovative design, planning a good strategy to complete the missions.
Presentation Award: Doing a good team presentation that clearly and concisely explains our solution.
These are just a few awards that our team has won in previous years. Teams don't always get an award, but our team always comes out feeling rewarded.
Our TEAM:
Our team has 8 members: Bruce, Sage, Beej, Badger, Sierra , Hazel, Zake, Poppy. Sometimes it’s hard to stay focused! Our coaches are Coach G and Coach K. Our mentor is Bara.
