Fort Bend students advance to state in robotics competition

 A community team made up of students from Sartartia and Fort Settlement middle schools and Elkins High School recently advanced to the state level of the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC), a robotics competition for secondary students, taking place later this month in Belton, Texas, according to a Fort Bend ISD online story.

Team members include Sartartia’s Abhiram Pavuluri, Maanav Pinapala and Neil Vellanki, Fort Settlement’s Pranav Tammana and Elkins’s Suhas Vemuri.

The team earned the following awards in the regional competition:

• 1^st Place in Design – Given to teams that best incorporate industrial and functional design into their robot
• 2^nd Place in Inspire – Given to the strongest ambassador of FIRST programs and the team that best performed across all judged categories
• 2^nd Place in Connect – Given to the team most connected to their STEM community
• 2^nd Place in Control – Celebrates innovative thinking in the control system to solve game challenges
• 3^rd Place in Motivate – Given to teams that spark others to embrace the culture of FIRST

FIRST Tech Challenge is a robotics competition that invites students in grades 7-12 to design, build, program and operate robots to compete in head-to-head challenges, acquiring STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills. Visit firstintexas.org to learn more about FIRST Tech Challenge.