Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

by Rosalee Taylor
Forest Lake Education Center (FLEC) Tech Cadets Robotics Team became the 2014 Adventist Robotics League National Champions at the annual competition at Sacramento Adventist Academy in California. The Tech Cadets achieved this award by winning first place honors in three categories: Robot Performance, Robot Design, and Team Core Values. They also won second place in the Team Project category.
“FLEC Robotics is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) initiative designed to celebrate invention and knowledge,” says parent sponsor Robert Henley. “Students work together to design, build, and program robots using Lego Mindstorms kits.”
The Tech Cadets research project developed a device they named Sparky to perform a series of tasks:

• Detect wild fires.
• Send a text message to homeowners.
• Call the fire department at a homeowner’s request.
• Set off a sprinkler system installed around the property perimeter.

With expressed interest in Sparky, Tech Cadets next goal is to apply for a patent. Several firefighters who saw a demonstration of Sparky indicated they would be interested in purchasing such a product.