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'Sport For The Brain'

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By KURT LOFT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 30, 2007

TAMPA - Expose young people to enough science and engineering, and they might invent a miracle machine.

It seemed a miracle, anyway, that teams of industrious Florida students could design, build, program and demonstrate their own machines during the first Tempest 'N Tampa robotics competition, held Saturday at the University of South Florida Sun Dome.

Teams from 18 schools, including some in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, rolled out their odd-looking, four-wheeled robots, each equipped with cameras, arms and computerized brains. The autonomous clunkers went nut-to-bolt in a grand dexterity test, trying to lift and fit inflated inner tubes on a series of metal posts - a sort of 3-D tick-tack-toe.

'It's amazing, because you get to be hands-on with a robot in your own tournament,' said Carley Arawo, 15, a member of the Krunch team from East Lake High School in north Pinellas County.

Teams began working on robot blueprints in January, and sponsors such as Honeywell and the USF College of Engineering donated hardware - motors, controllers, circuitry - as well as technical assistance. To even the playing field, each team received the same standardized package of equipment.

'But after that, the sky's the limit in using the materials any way you want,' said Brian Camp, a competition organizer with Honeywell.

The students had six weeks to complete their robot, with the work done after regular school hours. For John Canacho, 17, a senior at Middleton High School in Tampa, the challenge was daunting.

'It was very stressful because you have to work as a team,' he said. 'Sometimes we'd put in five or six hours a day after school.'

Building a robot requires a toolbox of skills: math, drafting, physics, electrical engineering and computer programming. Canacho said he'll carry those skills with him.

'This allows me to hone down what I want to do for a career,' he said.

Bryan Gallo, a 15-year-old with the Krunch team, said the competition forced him to 'accomplish a deadline as you would in the real world, so it's really satisfying.'

Teachers from each school helped their teams prepare, including Paul Wahnish, an engineering and social studies instructor at East Lake. He said the competition is about raising the bar in education.

'It's important to give kids something besides football,' he said. 'This is about team-building and communication, to take what they learn and apply it later in life. It's sport for the brain, and it's just awesome what these kids can do.'

Reporter Kurt Loft can be reached at (813) 259-7570 or kloft@tampatrib.com.

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