Inspiring The Next Generation Of Scientists And Engineers


Twisted Bots win third place in World 

The Twisted Bots, a robotics team of home-schooled high school students from Gloucester and Mathews, traveled to Atlanta, Ga., to compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship last Thursday and Friday. With a 5-2 record after qualifying rounds, the Twisted Bots were seeded 8th in the contest.

During the alliance selection process, the 2nd seeded team of DRIVEN Nuts from Newtown Square, Penn., selected the Twisted Bots as their first choice and the Rams of Rosemont, Penn., as their second choice to join the 2nd seeded alliance.

The Twisted Bots/Nuts/Rams alliance placed third in the competition and won the Division Finalist Award. According to coach Jon Thompson, the Bots were repeatedly recognized by judges and their peers as extremely courteous, gracious and sportsmanlike in all circumstances.

The Bots’ road to Atlanta started in September when FIRST released the 2008 challenge, Quad Quandary. Of more than 800 teams worldwide, 100 teams from four different countries qualified for the World Championship by winning a bid at a regional tournament.

The Bots earned their first bid with the Inspire Award during Virginia’s regional event in Charlottesville in December. They earned a second bid as captain of the winning alliance at the Maryland regional in March. After each event, the Bots modified and improved their robot and its programming to increase speed, scoring capability and precision.

The Twisted Bots have shared their robot skills with the community, giving demonstrations at Celebrate Families, the Gloucester Library and Lighthouse Worship Center, also letting interested persons operate their creation. They additionally traveled to robotics competitions at James Madison and Virginia Commonwealth universities, to volunteer at events and demonstrate their machine.

The Bots are coached by Thompson of Gloucester, a mechanical engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center, and mentored by Nathanael Miller of Williamsburg, an electrical engineering graduate student at Old Dominion University. The third-place World finish caps the team’s second season of FIRST competition.

For more information or to sponsor the team in its upcoming season, contact the members at twistrobotics@gmail.com.