Robotics Awards Celebrate Teen Teamwork

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 05/24/12

Team Antipodes, a three-person robotics team profiled recently on THEJournal.com, was awarded first place in robot design during the recent international FIRST Tech Challenge robotics competition, which took place in St. Louis, MO. The winning team relied on 3D design software made available by Autodesk to mock up the details for its latest robot, nicknamed Archie for Archimedes. The "PTC Design" award, sponsored by Parametric Technology, goes to the team that best incorporates industrial design elements into its robot.

Among other winning teams in the world championships for participants in grades nine through 12 were the following:

  • The Landroids from Livingston, NJ won the "Inspire" award, given to the team that best embodies the "challenge" of the program;
  • The "Judges" award went to both Auto Vortex, a Bucharest team, and Fembots, a Williamston, SC team;
  • Geeks in Just Their Underpants from White Sulphur Springs, WV won the "Motivate" award for team spirit and enthusiasm;
  • Mexico City team the Bears won the "Connect" award, given for the team with the best community and engineering connections, and member Manny Carbajal won the "Compass" award, given to an adult coach who mentors the team throughout the year;
  • The "Rockwell Collins Innovate" award went to Dent in the Universe, an Orlando team; this award is given to the team with the most innovative and creative robot design solution;
  • The Robo Mustangs from Putnam, CT won the "Think" award for the "journey" taken by the team during its engineering design process as displayed through maintenance of an engineering notebook; and
  • The "Promote" award went to the RoboCats, the Whitefield Academy team from Louisville, KY for its work in creating a public video celebrating science, technology, engineering, and math.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • illustration of a human head with a glowing neural network in the brain, connected to tech icons on a cool blue-gray background

    Meta Introduces Stand-Alone AI App

    Meta Platforms has launched a stand-alone artificial intelligence app built on its proprietary Llama 4 model, intensifying the competitive race in generative AI alongside OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI.

  • The AI Show

    Register for Free to Attend the World's Greatest Show for All Things AI in EDU

    The AI Show @ ASU+GSV, held April 5–7, 2025, at the San Diego Convention Center, is a free event designed to help educators, students, and parents navigate AI's role in education. Featuring hands-on workshops, AI-powered networking, live demos from 125+ EdTech exhibitors, and keynote speakers like Colin Kaepernick and Stevie Van Zandt, the event offers practical insights into AI-driven teaching, learning, and career opportunities. Attendees will gain actionable strategies to integrate AI into classrooms while exploring innovations that promote equity, accessibility, and student success.

  • robot waving

    Copilot Updates Aim to Personalize AI

    Microsoft has introduced a range of updates to its Copilot platform, marking a new phase in its effort to deliver what it calls a "true AI companion" that adapts to individual users' needs, preferences and routines.