With the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, the Kaua‘iBots will head to O‘ahu this weekend to accompany its FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics craft 2465, named Pegasus, in the FIRST Robotics Hawai‘i Regional Tournament taking place Friday and Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center on the grounds of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
“If they do well at the regional competition, they may have an opportunity to compete in the national event in Houston,” said a spokesperson for the Kaua‘i Robotics Alliance, which is the umbrella for the team of nine students in the high school category.
Students are from all over, the spokesperson said.
“They meet at this workshop facility and compete as the Kaua‘iBots. This year’s students come from five different schools, including St. Catherine School, Hawai‘i Tech Academy, Island School, Kapa‘a and Waimea high schools.”
The Kaua‘i Robotics Alliance covers the major robotics levels at the Kaua‘i schools, including the FIRST Lego League that is found in the elementary schools, the FIRST Tech Challenge for middle schoolers, and the FIRST Robotics that will be taking place this weekend.
Earlier, Kaua‘i’s FIRST Tech Challenge team from St. Catherine School earned a spot in the international competition that will take place in Houston Texas later in the year.
“We actually finished second,” said Martian Binonwangan.
Binonwangan’s entire family has been engaged in robotics competitions since he became a member of the St. Catherine School robotics team five years ago.
“There is a special prize that you can win to get to the international competition, and the team that won first place also won that prize. They were gracious enough to let us have the second eligibility to the competition,” Binonwangan said.
After being confined to virtual competitions during the pandemic, the FRC Hawai‘i Regional announced that it is open to the public. Masks must be worn during the indoor event, and covered shoes are a must if spectators are interested in getting close to the robots in the pit area.
“This Hawai‘i Regional SRC will have 30 teams, including the Kauai‘iBots and a team from Australia, and four teams from Japan,” the KRA spokesperson said. “There was interest from teams from China, but they were denied.”
Sandy Catlin of the Kaua‘i Robotics Alliance said the organization was planning on offering a summer program, but needs a home or a more permanent location to set up shop.
“We got this space after the Kaua‘iBots’ Head Mentor Cindy Hannah-White works in this building and saw the space was empty,” Catlin said. “She approached the building manager and signed a four-month lease that is going to expire.”
The Kaua‘i Robotics Alliance also accepts contributions to help create opportunities for students looking for further opportunities in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
• Info: kauairoboticsalliance.org
•••
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
