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Jonas Dino                            March 26, 2003
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650/604-5612 or 650/604-9000
E-mail: jonas.g.dino{at}nasa.gov

RELEASE: 03-17AR
NOTE TO EDITORS AND NEWS DIRECTORS: News media are invited to observe
the FIRST Robotics Silicon Valley Regional competition for students.
The competition will be held Thursday March 27 to Saturday March 29,
2003, in the Event Center at San Jose State University, 290 South 7th
Street, San Jose, Calif. Students and their mentors will be available
for interviews following each round of competition. To reach the
event center, take Interstate 280 to San Jose and exit north on 7th
Street. There is no charge for admission.

STUDENTS AND ROBOTS SEEK POINTS AND GLORY IN 'STACK ATTACK'

Engineering skills, strategy and teamwork will again take center
stage as high school robotics teams converge in San Jose, March 27 to
29, 2003.

Hundreds of students in 46 teams from around the country will be
putting six weeks of intense research, planning and engineering to
the test at the Event Center at San Jos=E9 State University in San
Jose, Calif., for the FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of
Science and Technology) Silicon Valley regional robotics competition.
Although every team started out with the same kit of parts provided
by FIRST, there will be many unique robots at this event.

"Education is a mission priority at NASA, and robotics represent one
of the most powerful ways to inspire students to continue their math,
science and technology education," said Mark Leon, project manager
for the NASA Robotics Education Project at NASA Ames Research Center
in California's Silicon Valley. "The inspiration for NASA's future
missions of exploration may come from these very students."

Each year, teams are given a 'problem,' six weeks and identical kits
of mechanical parts. With the help of mentors from NASA, industry and
academia, teams are free to explore the infinite possibilities in
design and strategy to accomplish their goals. Designs are based on
the team's interpretation of the competition's requirements and the
strategies that team chooses to deploy.

Working side-by-side with professional engineers and technicians from
their sponsoring corporations, colleges and government agencies, the
students have a chance to see what real-world engineering is all
about. Through this unique hands-on experience the students gain
valuable knowledge of engineering, mechanics, project leadership,
time management, task sequencing, physics, computers and teamwork.

This year's competition, 'Stack Attack' introduces new elements to
the FIRST competitions. The first 10 seconds in each round will be
non-robotic, with a team member placing storage bins in the scoring
area, followed by 15 seconds of preprogrammed or autonomous
operation. Students will be in control of their robots for the
remaining one minute and 45 seconds. The object of the competition is
to put as many storage bins in a team's scoring area as possible
before time expires. Extra points are awarded for stacked bins and
robots located in a designated area.

Thursday, March 27, will mark the first time students have seen their
robots since the 6-week development period ended. The teams will use
the time before Friday and Saturday's competition rounds to practice
strategy and finalize mechanical adjustments to their robots. In the
'pits,' students will also be perfecting the art of scouting out the
strengths and weaknesses of their opponents' robots. Ranking for
competition rounds will be based on ranking determined by the
round-robin practice runs.

"These competitions are making a difference in these students' lives;
you can see it in their eyes as they are working on their robots or
competing in the arena," said Joe Hering of the Robotics Education
Project at NASA Ames. "Students are actually using their classroom
knowledge of math, science and technology in a practical, hands-on
environment and enjoyable environment."

In 2003, the competition will reach more than 20,000 students on more
than 800 teams in 24 regional competitions to be held over the
five-week regional competition season.  NASA sponsors seven of the
regional competitions and 200 of the nearly 800 teams participating
in the 2003 FIRST competition.  The winners of these regional
competitions will compete in the FIRST Robotics Championship in
Houston in April. Regional and national awards are presented for
excellence in design, engineering innovation, control systems,
demonstrated team spirit, sportsmanship, creativity and many other
categories.  Teams represent almost every U.S. state, Canada, Brazil
and England.

NASA's Robotics Education Project is supported through the NASA
Office of Space Science, Washington, and is directed by David Lavery,
program executive for Solar System Exploration. The Robotics
Education Project supports a variety of educational initiatives,
including FIRST Robotics, which uses robotics to motivate students to
continue their education especially in the areas of math, science and
technology.

FIRST was established in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen to motivate
students to enter careers in math, science and engineering. The
organization's mission is to design accessible, innovative
programs to build self-confidence, knowledge and life skills. The
competition shows students that the technological fields hold many
opportunities and that the basic concepts of science, math,
engineering and invention are exciting and interesting. FIRST is in
its twelfth year of competition.

The NASA Robotics Education Project Web site can be found at:

http://robotics.nasa.gov

A complete list of the regional events, corporate sponsors and other
details can be found at the FIRST website at:

http://www.usfirst.org

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