Robots Ruling the Arena

Last weekend, Boston University’s Agganis Arena was overrun with robots taking part in the Boston FIRST Regional Robotics Competition. Fifty-three enthusiastic high school teams, decked out in beads, buttons, and crazy hats, cheered as their creations competed in a game called “Breakaway.” Robots kicked soccer balls into goals, climbed onto towers, and lifted themselves up in teams to advance to the world championship next month.

Ellen M. Farber ’13, who did FIRST with her high school in Texas, shed some light on the motorized mayhem’s mission. “So, there’s the term ‘coopertition,’” said Farber. “Everyone helps each other but in the end there’s still a competition to go to.” She hesitated when asked about the prize. “Bragging rights? It’s not so much about winning as it is about learning. The whole goal of the organization is to promote STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and math.”

Schoolwork didn’t seem to be in anyone’s mind last Saturday. Kimble M. McCraw, a second year student at Harvard Business School and a member of the committee that brought FIRST to Boston five years ago, said, “Dean Kamen [founder and inventor of the Segway] always calls it the ‘Superbowl of Smarts.’ This is kind of like high school football for the math and science people of the world.” As pop music blasted and giant screens glowed, the crowd chanted and practiced the wave.

There aren’t any Harvard students currently involved, but Saeqa D. Vrtilek, a senior professor at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and a veteran FIRST judge, wants Harvard to sponsor a team, calling her annual participation invigorating and fun. Even the judges get in on the craziness; during timeouts they dance the Macarena. “The idea is so that the kids see that the judges are normal people,” Vrtilek said. While the participants’ normalcy may be up for debate, the packed arena loudly asserted that, yes, STEM fields are fly.