Alabama, Arkansas teams earn national robotics berths at MTSU-hosted event

Teams from Alabama and Arkansas landed invitations to the FIRST Robotics National Championship later this year in Houston, Texas, during the FIRST Tech Challenge Tennessee Regional Robotics Competition Feb. 2 in MTSU’s Alumni Memorial Gym.

Tech Hogs Robotics of Springdale, Arkansas, and The Time Travelers from Huntsville Christian Academy in Huntsville, Alabama, earned their spots in Houston.

In all, 28 teams, 230 participants and 81 mentors from five states participated in the Knoxville, Tennessee-based TNFIRST’s first robotics venture to the Midstate region.

The Time Travelers received third place in the Inspire Award and first place in the Design Award. Tech Hogs Robotics advanced as a member of the winning alliance, being the first team selected by the team captain.

The two most prestigious awards for the Tennessee FTC State Championship were the Inspire Award won by the Browncoat’s from Madison Alabama, and the Captain of the Winning Alliance, won by the ’Lectric Legends, a homeschool group from Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. These teams had already qualified for the championship at other events, opening the door for Tech Hogs Robots and The Time Travelers to earn championship berths.

Tennessee Robotics Club, Murfreesboro’s lone entry, was the Collins Aerospace Innovate Award winner and placed second in the Design Award category.

Joined by his 3-year-old grandson Langston McPhee, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee attended the robotics regional, speaking with members from many of the participating teams.

“For a first-time event, it went very well,” said Mike Wehrenberg, a Knoxville resident and chairman of TNFIRST, a nonprofit corporation organized to provide resources and activities that build and expand mentor-based robotics programs across Tennessee. “We were happy for the kids, both in terms of their competitive spirit at this event as well as their continued pursuit of team-building, problem-solving and technology skills.”

Wehrenberg said MTSU and Alumni Memorial Gym were “well received” as the event location. “… Being in Middle Tennessee and the potential for West Tennessee are very important to us.”

Engineering technology and the College of Basic and Applied Sciences helped host the event.

MTSU has more than 300 combined undergraduate and graduate programs. One of the signature programs is mechatronics engineering, which features robotics.