This 2023-2024 FIRST ® season, follow along as we hear from four FIRST® LEGO® League, four FIRST® Tech Challenge, and four FIRST® Robotics Competition Diary of an Innovator teams about their season experience and the culture of innovation their team has created.
This post is by Team Intersection Lurenia from Türkiye.
Q: How has your team’s season been going so far?
A: Our team has made significant progress since the beginning. The topic of our Project has been chosen, and nearly everything is ready for the prototype construction. The construction of our robot is complete, and its route has been finalized. It can be said that the software is also almost finished.
Q: Tell us about your team’s Innovation Project.
A: We spent hours trying to find the best Project. We talked with many people who are the best in their field, and we visited some great universities. They greatly helped us improve our ideas and eliminated our flaws.
Q: How did your team pick a topic?
A: Instead of targeting a general audience, we wanted to think a bit more specifically. Therefore, we focused on people who have difficulty using their motor abilities and centered our Project around developing a product that would assist them in creating art.
Q: Share an example of how your team has worked together to solve a problem.
A: As students living in different cities, it was going to be very difficult for us to meet during summer vacation. We sat down, talked, opened a poll and unanimously determined our online meetings at times that were convenient for all of us.
Q: How has your team iterated on their Robot Design/Project?
A: We learned to act as a team in every position. Each of us took care to express our opinions and respect each other’s opinions. We gave importance to unanimity, not plurality of votes.
Q: What tips do you have for new teams that are getting ready for an event?
A: For the new teams preparing for FIRST® LEGO® League, communication is the key. Work together to build teamwork and address potential challenges. Stay positive to create a motivating atmosphere for everyone. Never lose hope, keep striving, and always believe in yourself and the team.
Q: What’s the most surprising lesson your team has learned together this season so far?
A: The most surprising thing for us in this season was learning that being a family doesn’t require blood ties. During the time we spent together, we learned a lot from each other, and learned that teamwork is much more productive than individual efforts.
Q: Has your team participated in an event (or are you preparing for one)?
A: Our priority is to participate in the competition on February 4th. Our heritage Intersection has been participating in the competition for 17 years. It’s a tradition in our school. This year, it is our turn to join as Intersection Lurenia.
Q: How is your/did your team get their robot competition-ready?
A: We sat down together and wrote down the type of movement each task required and designed components for them. Then we built our frame based on the arms we had designed. One problem we faced was attaching and detaching parts to suit different tasks, so we built a “modular” robot. Finally, we coded our robot and practiced to make it work perfectly.
Q: How did you/are you preparing for judging?
A: As a team we try to work together all the time and get as many takes as possible. We support each other in this process and stay calm while trying to simulate the judging. This is what we do while preparing for judging and we hope to do the same as what we are doing in our simulations in the tournament.
Q: Describe your team’s event experience
A: Within the scope of this event, we met many different teams, made many friends and had the opportunity to share our knowledge with them. We would like to thank the “Bilim Kahramanları”, the organizer of FIRST LEGO League in our country, for this unforgettable experience!
Q: What was your favorite part of the day?
A: We danced to our own team dances which we call “Intersection Dances” that we do every year as a team with other teams which was a lot of fun to dance and vibe with other teams.
Q: Are you attending any other events?
A: We are attending various events such as Young Diplomats, FIRST® Robotics Competition and MUN. Young Diplomats is organized with the participation of our elder members, INTEGRA which is in Turkish, distinguishing it from MUN. After Intersection members gain experience about the process, the team joins the INTEGRA family, which is the FIRST Robotics Competition team in our school. Additionally, our team is participating in BK MUN this year.
Q: What are you most looking forward to at your first event?
A: We are mostly looking forward to meeting new people as well as widening our network. We also want to have fun and have a joyful experience we might never have again. We are also excited and thrilled to have the chance to participate in the MASTERPIECESM season!
Stay tuned for our next post from the team later this year and watch for the other teams’ posts coming soon.
Catch up on the previous FIRST LEGO League Diary of an Innovator teams’ posts here.
Learn about the FIRST Tech Challenge Diary of an Innovator teams here, and the FIRST Robotics Competition Diary of an Innovator teams here.
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