Robot builds young scientist

As the Impossible Robotics team reveal the robot they have built to compete in the FIRST Robotics competition the unspoken question on everyone’s lips is will it work?!

They have been working tirelessly to be ready for the competition which will be held on March 9^{th – 11th} in Florida. Last week they demonstrated their robot at the Victron Energy premises.

Left to Right: Niels van der Wal, Jelle van Netten, Ijsbrand Hazenoot, Sjoerd Jannink, Stefan Sijbesma, Anna Woudstra and Henk van der Wal.

In the best tradition of engineering prototypes there have been one or two teething troubles: The software is running fine when the robot is tele-controlled but needs additional work for autonomous operation. And the hardware is not completely finished, just yet. With less than a fortnight to go we’re counting down and wait with baited breath to see if our team can pull it off!

Inspiring…

It’s all about taking part. A lot of behind-the-scenes effort goes into putting up a team for the competition which this year attracts 3,336 competing teams from 25 countries around the world. For nearly 30 years FIRST has been inspiring young people to get involved in science – this year more than 80,000 have, guided by 20,000 mentors.

Moment of truth…

It’s a huge global effort and you’ll be able to watch everyone in action by livestreaming the event direct from the University of Central Florida on March 9th, 10th and 11th. Look for team number 5412.

Victron Energy is proud to sponsor Impossible Robotics