“It’s the hardest fun you’ll ever have,” says one student about his work on the Battlefield High Robotics Team. Nearly 50 students with different strengths and interests have come together, combining all of their skills to get ready for the FIRST Robotics Competition scheduled for March 2-4 at Virginia Commonwealth University. The event, designed to spark interest in engineering and technology for young people, teams professionals with students to solve engineering design problems in a competitive way.
The Battlefield High team is currently working with engineers from Lockheed Martin, Aurora Flight Sciences, and TKC Global Solutions to create their latest invention. The students will need to build a robot that can be operated by remote control, but can also act independently, to strategically complete a series of challenges that will be revealed in Richmond during the competition.
“This is a competition of the minds, incorporating gracious professionalism,” says Gail Drake, a Battlefield High teacher who is leading the robotics team along with teachers Raymond Cotter, Michael Piccione, and Stephen Edgerton. “These students can be proud of their creativity and intelligence.”
Students come from around the world to compete in the Robotics Competition, and more than just engineering and technology students find a way to get involved. That’s because there’s more to the competition 
than just hardware and software: there are a number of team spirit features that are judged right alongside the robot’s performance, requiring the teams to design uniforms, posters, a Web site, brochures, presentations, and even a team video. In addition, the project requires significant financial and project management responsibilities, tasks that are also taken on by the students.
“Students from all backgrounds can get involved. This is a fully multidisciplinary undertaking,” says Drake.
Battlefield High School is the only school in the county to be participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition this year. Ms. Drake has won a $6,000 grant from NASA to support the team’s efforts, and the group received an additional $6,000 from Lockheed Martin for purchasing the robotics kit for the competition. Ed Lewis of Lockheed Martin also registered the team for the event.
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