Sharon Tiger Techs Robotics Team Advances to West Coast Championship Event
The Sharon Tiger Techs Robotics Teams competed at the Pennsylvania FIRST LEGO League State Competition where they received highest honors for their achievements. On February 15, 2025, the Sharon Tiger Techs Robotics Teams competed against 36 of the best teams in the state of Pennsylvania (representing over 400 teams in the state). Sharon Tiger Techs received one of the highest honors with the Third Place Champions (overall) Award. This earned the Techs the title of number one public/private school team in the state of Pennsylvania. As a result of their achievements, the team has advanced to the Western Edge Invitational in Long Beach, California which will be held May 30-June 1. The team will be competing against some of the highest performing robotics teams from around the world.
Prior to competing at the state championship, the team competed at their regional qualifier at Penn State Behrend where the Techs competed against 40 teams from the region. While at this event in January, the team placed first overall and also first with their robot performance score. This competition secured them a spot in the state championship.
Over the past 9 months, the team has designed, built, and programmed a LEGO Spike Prime robot to compete on a thematic playing field. The theme for this season, “Submerged”, provided the teams the challenge to program a robot autonomously for a 2.5-minute period to complete tasks related to the theme of ocean exploration. A few tasks involved the robot autonomously raising the mast of a ship, delivering sea creatures on the field, and sending a submersible across the field. In all, robots had to complete 15 missions on the playing field.
In addition to the robot challenge, the team developed an innovative project solution to address a problem related to the topic of ocean exploration. The team learned that scuba divers can be distracted from monitoring important safety data, such as air supply. After speaking with experts in the scuba industry and multiple end users of scuba equipment, the Techs developed the “Scuba PAL”, or Scuba Processor Auditory Link, an auditory scuba diving transmitter. The working prototype is able to demonstrate the effectiveness of hearing PSI read aloud as one reaches depths of the ocean.
Beyond the robot and innovation project, the teams have stayed active in the community by participating in and/or hosting outreach robotics events. The robotics team is in its 15th season and is part of the FIRST LEGO League organization. FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” The Sharon Tiger Techs consists of students in the Sharon City School District. They are under the leadership of Dave Tomko and Kelly Roys. The team is funded by sponsors and the Sharon City School District.
Sharon Tiger Techs Robotics Teams 