New Jersey High Schools Gear Up for 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition and 'LOGO Motion'

TRENTON, N.J., Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The young people responsible for the future of American ingenuity will hit the boards at the Sun Bank Arena in Trenton on March 4 and 5 for the annual New Jersey FIRST Robotics Competition. In a battle of strategy, design, motors and computer programming, 62 high school teams from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, California, Canada, Brazil and Turkey will compete with radio-controlled robots in a rigorous game modeled after sports championships. The prize? Bragging rights and the right to compete in the FIRST Championship in St. Louis in April.

Sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, the New Jersey FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition is free and open to the public. Competition times are Friday, March 4, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturday, March 5, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

"The power of FIRST lies in its ability to show young students the applications of their academic endeavors.  They can literally put their knowledge into motion," said Donald Bowers, regional director, New Jersey/Pennsylvania FIRST. "FIRST students witness the evolution of an idea on paper to its transformation as a moving robot. We believe that this experience helps students understand that their ideas can lead to technological breakthroughs or cures for diseases and that they can impact our world for the better."

Every year FIRST presents a different game filled with new challenges to test students' engineering skills, strategic thinking and team work abilities. In this year's "LOGO Motion" challenge, two alliances of three teams each will compete on a 27-by-54-foot field with poles, attempting to earn points by hanging as many triangle, circle and square logo pieces as possible. Teams earn bonus points for each robot that can hang pieces in the form of the FIRST logo and successfully deploy an independent mini-bot to climb vertical poles on the field of play.

The teams have only six weeks to create their robots using a starter kit of parts containing motors, batteries and various automation components but no other directives. Students are supported by professional mentors, teachers, and volunteers and use teamwork, entrepreneurship and critical thinking to achieve victory against their peers.

Founded by renowned inventor Dean Kamen in 1989, FIRST has grown into a global initiative, opening doors for students academically and professionally with more than 51,000 high school students on over 2,000 teams internationally. There are 58 regional competitions in the U.S., Canada and Israel, 8 district competitions and one state championship in Michigan all culminating in the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, April 27-30.

New Jersey FIRST gratefully acknowledges the long-standing support of Johnson & Johnson as its lead sponsor. Other New Jersey FIRST sponsors are JCPenney, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Bloomberg.  New Jersey FIRST is based at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. For more information visit www.nycnjfirst.org or www.usfirst.org.

SOURCE New Jersey FIRST