When Aryan Avlash of West Windsor and his teammates competed in one of the largest robotics competitions in the world in April, he said they at first encountered one problem after another.
“We lost a few matches and won a few,” said Avlash,18, the team’s captain. “The last day, we weren’t confident but went in with the mindset to have fun and appreciate the moment.
“And what would you know, the underdogs prevailed.”
Avlash and his Don’t Blink teammates from the West Windsor-Plainsboro area won first place in the 2023 FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship in Houston, Texas, one of three FIRST contests encouraging youth to become science and technology leaders and innovators in their communities.
The students joined over 50,000 people from around the world who converged on Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center over four days, from April 19-23, where hundreds of high schoolers tested their skills in innovation, teamwork and robotics by exploring energy sources and how energy is stored, distributed, and used, according to the FIRST website.
“I am thrilled and so proud of this team,” said Kathryn Rogers, the team’s coach. “They have put in countless hours of brainstorming and delegating tasks to each other to achieve this goal.”
“Hopefully, they will inspire future generations,” she added.
The nonprofit FIRST offers the FIRST Robotics Competition for grades 9-12, FIRST Tech Challenge for grades 7-12, and FIRST LEGO League with divisions spanning grades PreK-8 though ages may vary by country.
This year, The FIRST Tech Challenge tasked teams of students with using science and technology to build and program robots that competed against each other, according to FIRST. Nearly 7,000 FTC teams participated during the 2022-2023 season, with 192 advancing to the finals, including ones from China, South Africa and Israel.
Each team was aligned with two others. Don’t Blink’s winning alliance included Team GatorBytes of Newbury Park, California, and Team Quality Control, of Bellevue, Washington.
The Don’t Blink team, comprised of 9th to 12th graders, has no affiliation with the local school district. But students who learned of Don’t Blink mostly through word of mouth build, program and operate robots in the Princeton STEM Academy maker space in Plainsboro after school and on weekends. They and other teams compete in local and regional contests to qualify to enter higher ones. Don’t Blink members had previously traveled to the FIRST robotics world competition but had never placed before this year.
During the competition, the students created a robot called JADOO, which means magic in Hindi. They chose the name to commemorate the team’s Indian heritage. JADOO was designed to pick up cones and deliver them to various levels on the circuit in under half a second.
Ashmit Dewan, 17, of West Windsor, said the team’s performance was a comeback for the ages.
“We did have a lot of rocky spots throughout the competition,” said Dewan. “But it was pretty cool to see how we came together and were able to win the championship.”
West Windsor Mayor Hemant Marathe, who has supported the team, said, “They are in a league of their own.”
“The dedication and commitment they showed to robotics should be celebrated,” he said. “This is something they will remember for the rest of their lives.
The team credits its success to their mentor, FTC alum Aarush Sharma, and coach Rogers, who “has been instrumental in guiding the team since its inception in 2018,” members said.
“We couldn’t have done this without the support and guidance of our mentors and coach,” the students said. “We’re thrilled to have won and are grateful for this incredible experience.”
Other New Jersey Teams that placed during the FIRST Championship include:
Nemesis, Robbinsville: FIRST Robotics Competition - finalist
Mechanical Mustangs, Clifton: Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford - Daly Division
Peddie Robotics, Hightstown: Championship Division Winners - Milstein Division
Questionable Engineering, Jersey City: Championship Division Highest Rookie Seed - Curie Division
SOUPERBOTS, Sicklerville: Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen - Daly Division
The MidKnight Inventors, Plainsboro: Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford - Milstein Division
The Pascack PI-oneers, Montvale: Engineering Inspiration Award - Johnson Division
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Deion Johnson may be reached at djohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Instagram at @DeionRJohnson or Twitter @DeionRJohhnson
‘The underdogs prevailed.’ N.J. high schoolers win Tech Challenge at robotics World Championship - NJ.com
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