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 The Robowranglers, a partner
team consisting of Greenville High School and L-3
Communications, have been building robots since 1992.
Every year, through the FIRST Robotics Competition, L-3 engineers, high school students, and community
volunteers come together to build a one hundred and thirty
pound robot able to complete multiple tasks in a six week
time period. Through this building period, engineers mentor
students in brainstorming, prototyping, design, and creation
of the robot and its functions. Students work at L-3 each
night to create and build the various parts needed for the
robot. This enables the students to take classroom concepts
from the math and science fields and apply them to a real
world situation.
 After
the robot has been built, the Robowranglers take it to
regional and national competitions. Every year, the team
competes in the FIRST Lone Star Regional and the FIRST
National Championship. Being one of the original 28 teams
competing in the first championship event in 1992, the Robowranglers
will always be eligible to enter the regional and national
events. The FIRST Robotics Competitions are centered
on a new engineering challenge or "game" each year designed
to showcase the science and math talents of team members.
The main goal of the competition is not to score points, but
to maintain a sense of gracious professionalism and build
lasting partnerships.
 To be able to travel to the
FIRST events, the students of the team have to keep busy
raising money to cover the expenses. As part of the
Pennies for the Bot program, the Robowranglers go door to door and business
to business every year in search of pennies. With the
support of the community and the students of Greenville High
School, the fundraiser is an annual success, raising over
100,000 pennies each year. |
