Robotics teams set to get build information Saturday

Nothing much will get a high school student out of bed before dawn on a Saturday, unless they’re a fan of science and engineering and eager to find out what kind of robot they need to build for this year’s FIRST Robotics competition.

Thirty teams from around the state are expected to converge at Eastern Washington University from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday. Each year students are told to build a robot that will perform a specific task. Each team receives a kit of construction materials and electronic components – with only limited instructions – to use to build a robot in six weeks. The robots compete against each other in regional competitions to determine a winner.

Saturday’s event is timed so that all 3,300 high school teams across the world will get their build information at the same time.