International Robotics Network

Recently two SWAT 771 members, Vicky and Gigi, traveled to the Hawaii Regional (with their own resources) to help teams from China they supported in the summer via SKYPE. One of the girls was on the ground there visiting family, so was able to support in person. While at the Regional, they supported other teams as well. We truly have an international network, and these inspired girls never cease to amaze us!

By Vicky Wang

Last week, Gigi  Chan and I volunteered and mentored at the Hawaii Regional FRC competition held at University of Hawaii Stan Sheriff Arena. 38 high school FIRST robotics teams from Hawaii, mainland America, Australia, China, Japan, and Taiwan competed there to earn a spot at the FIRST Championship.

Besides helping assemble and reset the field, Gigi and I assisted about 10 teams with their bumpers, mechanical designs, and robot communication. We also organized 3 workshops for two Chinese teams to prepare them for the judging sessions during the competition. 

Our mentoring/volunteering experience ended up successfully with team 5832, a team we have been mentoring since last summer, winning the Rookie All Star award, which qualified them to participate in the FIRST Championship held in St. Louis this late April. We also made connections with a few local teams at the competition. We hope we can compete at Hawaii Regional next year in order to maintain these connections, as well as make our reputation louder beyond the nation.