SAUGUS — Aladin Crnolie is just 10 years old but he already has dreams of working in computer programming.
“We’re getting closer to the time when we’ll use robots for everything,” he said.
Crnolie is on one of two Veterans Memorial Elementary School robotics teams gearing up for a big competition, the FIRST Lego League Challenge, on Dec. 1. This year, it will be in Westford at Nashoba Valley Technical High School. The Galaxy Novas and The Planet Programmers, two groups of 10 fifth graders, will compete against 20 other teams.
Each group created a robot and constructed various obstacles on their site map using Lego Mindstorms software and hardware kits. They will complete as many of the 15 missions as they can to collect points, avoiding penalties for making errors. The theme of the competition is “Into Orbit,” which challenges the students to identify a problem that impacts the health or safety of a space explorer and solve it.
“I’m a computer genius,” said Crnolie, who described learning to program as a lot of trial and error.
The students created each piece of equipment using Lego pieces. They take turns creating patterns on the computer that control the robot’s actions to complete missions.
On Wednesday, the students were programming the robot to move a marker, which represented an astronaut, into a designated area.
“We have to bring the astronaut back to base,” said Crnolie.
They did this by testing out the correct number of rotations and other movements it took to get the bot where they wanted it.
“These kids are so engaged,” said Bill Palmerini, a team coach and fifth grade teacher. “They’re all here because they really want to do this. It’s wonderful for me as a teacher to see this.”
Palmerini has been a teacher in Saugus for more than three decades. This is the first year he has seen a significant number of girls getting involved in the program, he said.
“I wanted to do it for a really long time,” said Zahra Ghaouta, 10. “I like building and I like programming.”
The product is funded by an $80,000 grant from FIRST Lego League and is intended to build an interest that can be carried on to the high school level. The dream is to offer robotics as a class at the high school, said Palmerini.
Saugus students didn’t win at last year’s competition, but they were awarded the Gracious Professionalism Award. The recognition is given to a group of students with good sportsmanship, manners, and a positive attitude.
“To me, that’s better than winning any other award,” said Palmerini.
