Fayetteville Robotics team advances to World Finals

VILLAGE OF FAYETTEVILLE – The Fayetteville SUITS, a local FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team from the Fayetteville Library, has been announced as a finalist in the 2021 FIRST Global Innovation Awards powered by Star Wars: Force for Change.
The team, coached by Andrew Leary, was selected from entries from around the world for their outstanding solution, which demonstrated sound and innovative design, feasibility, and the potential to have significant impact in the world.
The Fayetteville SUITS have invented a medical recovery and fitness device for the FIRST Innovation Challenge presented by Qualcomm Incorporated. Led by team captain Isaiah Markle, the SUITS will join other finalists from FIRST® Robotics Competition and FIRST LEGO League to attend virtual workshops, showcase their solution, and present to industry leaders and expert judges June 28 – 30.
On June 30 at 2:30 p.m. ET on the FIRSTtv Twitch channel, the Global Innovation Awards will culminate with an awards show broadcast. The winning team will be awarded experiential, one-of-a kind prizes from sponsors, including mentorship with top industry experts. Additional awards will be given to runners up, including an Innovation Impact Award, Implementation Award, and Create Award. All teams will receive Star Wars: Force for Change commemorative items, designed exclusively and available only to participants of the 2021 FIRST Global Innovation Awards.
Teams participating in the FIRST Innovation Challenge must design a solution, create a business model and pitch their idea, and advance their skills by using technology as part of the process. Inspired by the season’s sports and fitness theme, teams explore the invention and innovation process through identifying a problem or opportunity to help people and communities keep, regain, or achieve optimum physical and/or mental health and fitness through active play or other forms of movement.
FIRST Tech Challenge teams in grades 7-12 (ages 12-18) work together to design, build, and program a robot to play a themed competition challenge by brainstorming innovative ideas, exploring advanced engineering concepts, and developing career-ready practices.
This is in addition to the robotic challenges that the teams competed in this season. The Fayetteville SUITS, also known as FTC Team 10161, advanced to the Excelsior Regional Championship with a robot that they designed, built, and programmed. The robotic competitions were completely remote this year for the entire Excelsior Region, which includes all of New York State except Long Island and New York City.
Innovators and inventors play a critical role in growing our economy and improving our quality of life. The FIRST Global Innovation Awards powered by Star Wars: Force for Change are designed to encourage and assist teams with the further development of their original and important ideas for solving global issues. Together, Lucasfilm, Disney and FIRST are empowering the next generation of diverse creators, thinkers and leaders—ensuring all young people have an opportunity to believe in possibilities, build new skills, and create a better future for themselves and the world. Students emerge as strong visionaries and divergent thinkers capable of applying innovative thinking to any problem. From improvements to the water cycle, to innovative solutions to waste management, past Global Innovation Awards winners have brought their inventions to market, received patents, and incorporated as businesses.
The 2021 Global Innovation Awards powered by Star Wars: Force for Change are sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton, Cheddar News, Collins Aerospace, John Deere, and LEGO Education and in collaboration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
FIRST Innovation Challenge sponsors include: Presenting Sponsor Qualcomm, Key Sponsor BAE Systems, with the support of John Deere and the global healthcare company Abbott and its foundation the Abbott Fund, Media Partner Cheddar News, and in collaboration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.