COLORADO SPRINGS — “This robot we call him Scotty,” said high school senior, Sean Patrick from Erie Colorado
Patrick is at the Rocky Mountain Cyberspace Symposium and the invitation only AFCEA Pikes Peak Robotics Classic.
“Trying to make it to Texas--go to worlds,” said Widefield High School Sophomore, Gavin Bennett.
The Cyberspace Symposium brings together major players from the military, private companies, and academia.
The event is put on by AFCEA members who use proceeds to support the robotics competition for students.
“There is a cyber aspect to protecting their robots and coding,” said AFCEA Rocky Mountain Chapter Vice President of Education, Russ Fellers.
The 2024 event is hosting more than 60 teams from ten states across the nation.
AFCEA puts on the robotics competition as a way of encouraging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Education.
Standing with his robotics team of four, Rushil Milleti from Redmond, Washington said “I’m guessing most of us will go into something like computer science, mechanical engineering, computer engineering.”
“What we like about this robotics programs is over 80% of these students who participate in robotics go on to get STEM degrees and become STEM professionals. So, the return on Investment is great,” said Fellers.
For now, the students are thinking about fine tuning their robots for the next round of competition.
“Have changed our robot every single time in a new way,” said Widefield High School Junior, Dominic Fernandez.
“Hopefully beat up some robots today,” said Natalie Taylor from Pikes Peak Early College.
The enthusiasm from all the student competitors makes it clear that STEM skills can be fun.
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