Tehachapi Robotics Team 585 heads to Internationals

Tehachapi Robotics Team 585 Cyber Penguins returned from their April 7-8 Las Vegas Competition with the Image Award and an invitation to the First International Championships in Houston April 19-22. They will be competing against 300-400 other teams. The team packed Toasty for shipping on Monday morning after Las Vegas.

All 16 team members attended the Las Vegas event. The Imagery Award is for the overall design and how it carried through all aspects of the presentation. This includes not only the uniqueness of how the robot looks, but the appearance of the pit crew, even down to their tee shirts and hair styles.

Justin McKim and Chloe Shadduck said that some of the other robots were made of aluminum and heavier than Toasty who is primarily fiberglass and foam core and more flexible. He is "not as fast but more precise," agreed the two. They expect to get points in Houston for the robot's ability to climb.

A big surprise for the entire team came when mentor Leonard Evansic received the Woodie Flowers award. The award, named for the MIT professor, is awarded to recognize these mentors within the FIRST Robotics Competition who lead, inspire, and empower using excellent communication skills.

Not all members of the team are going to Houston. The Drive Team which includes programmers, coach and drivers and the Chairman's Team of writers and presenters will go. Because of the team's NASA sponsorship, they have been invited to tour NASA's Houston facilities and will be staying an extra day for that.