JAY — SMART Robotics will be hosting its annual fundraiser kick-off pasta dinner and auction at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, at Spruce Mountain High Cafeteria.

At the dinner, program participants will share the video of this year’s game and show off last year’s robot and the team’s awards.

Tickets are available from a FRC SMART Robotics student or coach.

Forty students and 17 mentors will spend more than 150 hours brainstorming, prototyping and building this year’s robot. The team will have exactly six weeks to complete the 2014 robot. On Feb. 18 they will no longer be allowed to work on the robot until they compete at Worcester Polytechnic Institute on March 13 and 14.

The team will compete again on April 4 and 5 in the Pine Tree Regional at the Androscoggin Colisée in Lewiston. All are invited to attend.

In the last five years, the robotics program has grown to include the FIRST Robotic Challenge. “A varsity sport for the mind,” FRC combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources and time limits (six weeks), teams of 40 students or more are challenged to raise funds, design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors.

It’s as close to “real-world engineering” as a student can get. Volunteer professional mentors lend their time and talents to guide each team. Each team builds a 24- by 36-inch robot up to 88 inches high. These robots weigh 150 pounds and compete on fields that are the size of a gym floor.

The team travels to two major competitions, three post-season events and many demonstrations, and presentations each year. Members were using a truck to transport its robots, tools and equipment, which weighs 1000 pounds. With the weather in Maine, using a truck that may or may not be enclosed is not easy or safe for the electronic equipment. Having a new robotics trailer would allows the team to protect equipment and do more community outreach.

When traveling to major competitions, the team shares buses and transportation cost with other Maine teams.

Trailer sponsors who helped purchase the team’s new trailer include Franklin Savings Bank, Otis Federal credit Union, Riverview Plumbing and Heating, Dr. Roger Kay, Woodland Investment Services, Ted Berry company and Signworks. Additional team sponsors are invited to contact Dan Lemieux at 207-897-4336 or email to dlemieux@rsu73.org.

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