Team Equilibrium

The team found out today that they had come in 8Th place overall. There were a total of 19 teams taking part so I guess its not too bad. They had some positive feedback from the guys who are developing the new soft ware....

"you guys had one of the most professional robots I have ever seen, I have never seen a dual ackerman steering configuration before. Well done."

It was great to get this comment after the disappointment of Saturday. Watch this space, they will be back next year!

Team Equilibrium

Competition day dawned and J was up bright and early to leave for the MTN Science centre with his team mates. Yet again, they had stayed up until about 10.30 pm fine tuning their robot. We got there just before the opening ceremony. One of the team members did a spectacular ramp onto the stage on his bike. The tension mounted as they went into a side room to be judged on their robotics. The judges were highly impressed with their original robot that they ditched in favour of the robot the made this week. They came out feeling pretty confident and went into the pit area to practice on their runs. Tension was high and I think we were all running on adrenaline!

Team practice area.

J and J (in fact, all the team members initials are J.....so the should have been called the J team!) manned the table twice before lunch with the robot for their timed rounds.They had to do a total of three timed rounds for the competition. They did well and there were shouts of joy and much cheering as the robot performed the assigned tasks.

The real timed deal.

The team was approached for input by some guys who are developing software that will allow for more efficient programming of the robots. This was a real boost for the team. As we went off to feed the hungry team, spirits were high as they were tied in second place at lunch time.

Lunch break.

They had also done their presentation on their research project before lunch so the last task was another timed round at the tables. It was great to see so many other home-ed families there who came to support the team


The boys handled the whole task of manning the table with confidence and they worked well together under pressure.

The teams were finally called up for the award ceremony and they received medals .

We are not sure of how it all happened as they had been in such a good place before lunch, but the team did not get any trophies. They came away feeling disappointed after all the hard work they had put into this event.

One thing I am proud of is that they refuse to be defeated and they are determined to come back next year and give it a shot again!

Team Equilibrium

As the countdown to Saturday has begun, I thought I should share some of the posts from the teams blog in case you have not been able to follow yourself....

The purpose of FLL is that kids will learn about environmental or community issues and use the Lego competition as a way to have a bit of fun while expanding their brains.When it comes to the robotics we learn a lot about mechanics and design. We learnt a lot this year about what doesn't work - it's like Tomas Edison who found 99 ways not to make a light bulb before he found the way to do it! Well we learnt many ways that our robot would not work until Tuesday night when we rebuilt it and now have a super robot that is breezing through the challenges.But with the project we had to find a problem related to transport in our community. We then had to find a solution to this problem. For the last 6 weeks we have been working on the solution. We identified the problem quite quickly for our age group - cycling in the road. We sent out a questionnaire to 200 parents and got 68 replies. only 1 person said they felt that the Cape Town roads were safe enough for their child (aged 14) to ride on. The rest said that because of cars and threats of robbery they wouldn't allow their children to ride on the road.Our solution is a "grass roots" solution, as my mom says. It is easy affordable and do-able for each parent. We don't have to rely on the City of Cape Town to make cycle lanes - although many lives could already have been saved if there were cycle lanes. (BTW plans for lanes are in the pipeline).We are just waiting for our "model" and then we will reveal our solution - so watch this space! We got the "little brothers" to make us a Lego city.

Lego city by the little brothers for the display table.

Here's the promised solution for kids who are reliant on bike transport or just want to get from A - Z on their bikes...to visit a friend, to get some exercise or to get to sport.We all know that the roads aren't a safe place for cyclists. In 2009 we personally know of two men who were killed in car-bike related accidents. Both of these men leave behind wives and young children.Of course parents are concerned about letting their kids bike around the suburbs. Besides cars being a hazard, we also know that South Africa isn't the safest place to live and even in our neighbourhood we hear of incidents where school kids are robbed of their cell phones.So our S.O.K Pack (SAVE OUR KIDS) is a grass roots solution for older children who are reliant in bikes to get around.

Included in the pack is:

~A cool camo reflective jacket (Cape Storm donated the fabric and Freeline printing did the printing, we designed and sewed it)

~A can of pepper spray

~A lego movie DVD

~Bike stickers

~Bike helmet

~2 flashing bike lights

Take a look at how it looks....

One of the team members kitted out in the S.O.K. Pack.

I am so proud of the way these kids have put the minds to the challenge set before them and have been determined to overcome all the obstacles they have faced. Today was another long day for them. J was gone at 08h30 and only home at 22h30! A tired but happy kid!

A late night...

J and his team are refusing to be defeated. Their robot had been giving them problems and with just a couple of days to go before the competition day, they decided to buy and build a new robot from scratch at about 7 pm last night!
He came home for a quick bite to eat and was back to work with the team until about 10pm last night. Up early and there all day again today. Thankfully they made fantastic progress and the robot is doing what they need it to do! Tonight they had the night off. The big count down to Saturday's competition has begun!

Team Equilibrium

Team Equilibrium

J is working long hours with his team for the upcoming competition on Saturday. He is doing minimal school work and leaving mid morning to go and work with his team on their robot. Last night he left for karate, home for a quick shower and supper and then back to work on the robot.

The team got their T-shirts and caps this week and they really look great!

The competition will be held in the MTN Science Centre on Saturday from 9.30 til 3.00pm. The entrance fee is R5 pp for the day.

If you are able, please come and support them. Look out for the black T-shirts and caps!

You can follow the last week countdown on their blog: http://fll-cape-town.blogspot.com/

Team Equilibruim Update

Just thought I should give you an update on J's life at the moment....
My beloved big boy is so busy with his school work and has lots to fit in before we take our Spring break.He is kept very busy after school with First Lego League (Team Equilibrium)about 9 to 10 hours a week, and karate 4 to 6 hours a week. He is also doing woodwork and Acts on Saturdays. I do miss having him around. I know it is only a short while and things will calm down again.

Team Equilibrium is making good progress with their research project. Here is an excerpt from their blog written by one of the team members:

Anyway, the research project: Now that we have identified our community (kids our age), one of the main modes of transport (the bicycle) and a problem (safety), we need to find a solution – and we have. There are always two sides to a bicycle/car accident. The driver of the car couldn't’t see the cyclist, and the cyclist wasn’t prepared for the car. We decided to solve the problem with the driver not being able to see the cyclist. We are putting together a cycling safety pack. We have designed a cool, blue and silver or orange and silver camo high-visibility jacket that kids our age would wear, and we are putting a canister of pepper-spray in it too – as a bonus, we are also going to try and get a whole lot of Capestorm, Avalanche, etc, sticks that come free with the pack. (There might be one or two other things, but I can’t remember). Capestorm is donating a whole lot of fabric for us to design two of the jackets and they have given us the contacts of the people who can print the reflective silver camo design onto the fabric. So thanks to Capestorm for that. We also drew up a plan of action, which I can’t quite remember. Maybe it’ll come to me tomorrow. My brain is pap now.

I must say, I am impressed with these kids and what they have come up with. Last year they won the prize for most innovative research project so we are all hoping they do well again this year. I love seeing the way these kids put their mind to things and work out solutions. I think think they are truly blessed to have opportunities like this which push them beyond their comfort zones and require plenty of hard work, problem solving, determination and dedication to the team.

First Lego League

Its the season for First Lego League again! It feels like just the other day that J took part in his first tournament. They did very well last year and got a trophy for the most innovative research.

This year, there are only 4 members on the team and we look forward to them doing well again. Schedules will be tight as he will be doing extra training for karate in preparation for competitions too! He sure does have a busy and interesting life!

If you would like to follow Team Equilibrium's blog, here is the link http://fll-cape-town.blogspot.com/ Enjoy!