Feb 28 2011
Potomac School students built a Lego Robot with Lego Mindstorms pieces. Roberta, capable of fixing a damaged heart, casting a broken bone, destroying bad blood cells and distributing medicines, however did not qualify for the First Lego League robot-building competition’s Maryland state championship. Roberta was the first attempt for the group of under-13 girls.
A worldwide organization, First Lego League encourages children between the ages 9 and16 to take part in robot and research challenges. They are required to research and find the solution to a problem, for the theme based on medicine and the human body. Since the First Lego League is not a science and engineering program and does not require technical expertise, children and coaches can put on their best thinking caps and come up with creative solutions.
Roberta has performed her medical tasks on a Lego Model. However, during the course of the competition, the team realized that Roberta's light sensor did not function properly since the light in the auditorium was not the same as light in the school’s science lab where Roberta was developed and tested. In the qualifying competition held in Laurel, only 6 of the 20 participating teams were selected for the finals held at Baltimore.
Source: http://www.mdfirst.org/