Today we’d like to introduce you to Jillian Smith.
Hi Jillian, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We are a new team that began our project in August of 2021 and spent an average of 10 hours a week meeting in person or virtually. Although our team was new, through hard work and dedication we created a successful team and working prototype.
We won both the local qualifiers and the Southern California regional championship before being invited to this international competition where 80 teams from throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Spain, Israel, South Korea, and Japan competed. We received the third-place Champions Award in May 2022 at the First Lego League Razorback Open Invitational, held at the University of Arkansas. We were the only US team to place in the Champion award category.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were struggles with reliability when creating our innovation prototype. There were issues with getting even strands of shredded plastic bottles. Our shredder went through four evolutions before we were able to get the prototype we have today.
with the robot’s performance, there was an issue with one of our robot runs. We worked on it the entire season before creating the innovative design. Our robot module picked up some cargo blocks rather than pulling them, which was something the judges had not seen.
Working hard and long hours can lead to burning out so we made sure to spend time having fun as a team to stay motivated. Costco pizza and Capri sun were our go-to foods!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are a youth robotics team that is known for our open-sourced materials.
In announcing the champion award category, FIRST officials noted that “This award celebrates teams that embody the First Lego Challenge experience by fully embracing our core values while achieving excellence in innovation, robot performance, robot design, and the innovation project.” Referencing Team MC2, they go on to add, “Their enthusiasm is catching.”
The innovation project portion of the competition was tasked to solve cargo problems, to which we created and operated a working system aimed at the reduction of plastic waste and the shipping associated with plastic dumping.
Our innovation system shreds plastic bottles into strips that are fed through an extruder, which melts them into strands that can be used as filaments in 3D printers. The model’s components are available through the open-source 3D printing design website, Thingiverse and we use our YouTube channel to guide teachers, First Lego League viewers, and fellow 3D printing enthusiasts on how to recreate their working project at home or school.
Additionally, the team designed, built, and programmed a robot to solve challenges within a 2:30-minute table competition. In the spirit of gracious professionalism, they collaborated with other teams and mentored a fellow competitor earlier in the season. Our innovative robot design was a major factor in our success.
What does success mean to you?
One of the biggest impacts this competition had on us was that it gave us the chance to meet a diverse community of people with our interests. We all learned so much from each other and left with new friends from all over the world.
Win or lose, this is a success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/fll-robotics-teammc2
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teammc2robotics/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teammc2robotics
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FLLTeamMC2
Image Credits
First Lego League
