Middle School Robotics Team Competes in State Competition

Students Jonas E. '28, Cleveland J. '28, Luke H. '26, Donavan B. '26 and Michael C. '27 are competing in the First LEGO League (FLL) state competition this weekend at James Madison University. If they win, they advance to national FLL competitions, and the robotics enthusiasts are hoping for their hard work the last few months will secure their place in the national competition.

“This year was the first time we had a ‘clean sweep’ at the tournament,” said Advisor Skip Morrow. “Until the Norview Regional Tournament which was held the week of Nov. 8, we have never been able to get first place in robot performance and first place overall (which includes three judged categories). This is the fifth year in a row that the team has progressed to the state championship and the team deserves 100% of the credit for this.”

How Does it Work?
FLL presents teams with a universal theme—this year is Cargo Connect and it challenges teams to move cargo and goods through an innovative solution—that they must meet through robot design and a project.
For the project, the team focused on using electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs), which are essentially flying cars, to move their goods.

“My biggest surprise was that these things exist and that someone was building these electric helicopters,” said Luke. “We came up with the solution when we talked to Dr. Lind at NASA. He introduced us to advanced air mobility and eVTOLs.” 

From there, the students researched the technology and liked the innovation that they saw with Joby Aviation, so they set up meetings with experts at Joby, and then presented their findings and solicited feedback to local officials, including the vice mayor of Norfolk and the chief of staff for the City of Norfolk. They are still working on trying to connect with the FAA.

“I think we did so well in this competition because we had a well-thought-out and creative project and we worked really hard to get our robot runs working,” said Luke. “Sometimes our robot missions wouldn’t be reliable, so we had to make sure to work hard and make them reliable for the competition.”
 
They also went for challenges when other teams shied away, said Michael. “In terms of the robot game, the sorting center mission got us a lot of points, and no other team went for it. Sorting center provides 100 points if you use both retrieved crates. We also had two ‘mega runs’ often completing multiple missions at once. Best overall was due to our unique ideas and innovation.”
 
Being in person also was a huge help to the team.
 
“Being back at school (and in-person) improved communication so we could be more efficient in making our missions work 100% of the time,” said Donavan. “I was able to fully understand what was going on since this year is my second full year in FLL, so I did not need to be re-educated as much on how to make code.”
 
Unlike last year’s virtual competition, this year students compete in person, which has made it more like past seasons for veteran participants.
 
“Last year the team met over Zoom most days. It was very hard to collaborate on robotics missions, so it was a relief that we could practice in person this year. Even though we did great last year, I think the students were able to get more out of the project and robot game this year,” said Morrow.
 
What’s Next?
This weekend the team will compete against all other regional champions throughout Virginia and Washington, D.C.

While they are excited to compete and see what the other teams will bring to the tables, they also “would like people to know that our team never gives up,” said Luke.

“And we’re open for autographs,” added Michael. “At least I am!”

They also hope that their work with local government officials could help bring the technology to the forefront of Hampton Roads.

“With the eVTOL project, the team researched where they would take off and land. We worked with NASA and identified locations in Norfolk and shared that list with the vice mayor of Norfolk,” said Morrow. “We just had another meeting with the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission. Can you imagine taking a flying car from the beach all the way to Busch Gardens and the trip would take less than 15 minutes instead of an hour and a half drive—if you are lucky? This technology will be here within five years. The team has made a huge impact in the community, and we are recognized throughout the state for it.” 
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