“Today we’re going to work with flying space robots, so that’s as cool as it gets,’’ Garan said before the competition started. “I hope it encourages you to continue studying science, engineering, and math, because that’s important to the future of our planet.’’
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership partnered with NASA to offer the second annual Zero Robotics Summer Sphere Program, aimed at increasing student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
More than half the students in the competition represented Boston’s northern suburbs. In fact, the Winthrop 21st Century Community Learning Center edged out Salem CyberSpace by six points to win the tournament. Other teams included the Robert L. Ford School in Lynn, the East End House in Cambridge, and the James P. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury.
Each team’s computer programs were uploaded onto robots the size of soccer balls that are normally used to perform maintenance on the Space Station. On Tuesday, however, two robots simultaneously performed a series of tasks based on the students’ code. Each of the five teams competed in head-to-head matches against one another, earning points along the way.
The undefeated Winthrop squad handed Salem its only loss of the tournament in a nerve-racking match that had to be replayed three times because Winthrop’s robot was experiencing technical difficulties.
“I was scared we were going to lose against Salem,’’ said Winthrop Middle School eighth-grader Krystle Boyajian, noting that they had lost to Salem in a test match earlier in the summer. “They beat us, and I really didn’t want to lose again against them, and we beat them so I was really happy.’’
The victory went a long way toward erasing memories of that Salem loss and a dismal showing in last year’s robotics competition. Despite feeling confident about its code, Winthrop didn’t win a single match in the inaugural tournament.
