As we close out this first month of 2022, it’s hard to believe that we’re starting our 3rd calendar year of COVID uncertainty, or 4th if you count the end of 2019. Ultimately, these times have proven that people find a way to prevail. From our vantage point, the volunteer robotics community is an amped up group that reflects exactly this spirit of perseverance. At times, the challenges seem bleak, overwhelming, and unforgiving. Our great hope is that through this all, the young minds involved in competitive robotics during this time will be even more inspired to discover, invent, and create solutions make this world a better place than it has been these past three years. In that spirit, we wanted to highlight the success stories of the LRC teams and individuals during this time.

• LRC: 2021-2022 Fourteen rookie FLL teams formed!
  • CARWAVE, Creative Girlz, CyberKittens, Inferno, Team Blue, Team Electron, Robo Effect, Freight Falcons, Programmed Chaos, RoboCrafters, Team Plasma, Undefined, Team Protech
• LRC: 2021-2022 over 28 new FLL coaches minted
• LRC: Nov 2021 – Hosted an FLL Mini Qualifier  with some of the excitement of an in-person FLL event but in a COVID-safe manner
• Exit 65A Robotics: 2021-2022 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams
• Exit 5A Robotics: 2022 VEX AI Championship – Judges Award (4th place robot game)
• Exit 6 Robotics: 2021 Virtual Invitational Open – Innovative Robot Design Award
• Flame Machines: 2021 Global Innovation Award Semi-Finalist
• Flame Machines: 2021 FLL World Festival Invite (canceled COVID)
• Flame Machines: 2020/2021 North NJ FLL Championship – Champions Award
• Exit 6 Robotics: 2020/2021 North NJ FLL Championship – Engineering Excellence Award
• Exit 5A Robotics: 2020/2021 VEX AI Pilot Program (50 teams nationwide)
• LRC: 2020 – The LRC community of teams contributed (3d printed) 4,010 Face Shields and 6,379 Ear Savers for 16 local hospitals during the peak PPE shortage with special recognition to Spongebots for leading the effort.
• Spongebots: 2020& 2021 – RoboCup Jr. Soccer US Nationals Invite (canceled COVID). 2020 and 2021 were likely US championship winning seasons for Spongebots with their advanced RCJ soccer robots (far improved from their already high 3rd place finish in 2019)
• Exit 6 Robotics: 2020 FLL World Festival Invite (canceled COVID)
• Individual Awards:
  • Magdalene Siao: 2021 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing – National Certificate of Distinction
  • Bill Lam: 2021 Lemelson-MIT Excite Award
  • Annica Lam: 2021 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing – NJ Regional Affiliate Rising Star Award
  • Rachelle Hu: 2021 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing – NJ Regional Affiliate Award
  • Annica Lam: 2020 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing – NJ Regional Affiliate Honorable Mention

And once again, we wanted to state how especially inspiring it was to see the dozens of parents stepping it up in fall of 2021 to coach & lead fourteen rookie FLL teams with about 100 students!!