Mandurah wizz kid off to US to compete in international robotics comp

FREDERICK Irwin bright spark Thomas Bannerman is off to St Louis in the US to compete in the FIRST Robotics Championships on April 27.

The Year 11 student was selected after his success at the FIRST Robotics Australia Regional Competition in Sydney last month.

There were more than 3100 teams and about 78,000 participants aged 14 to 18 in the competition.

Under strict rules, limited resources, and an intense six-week time limit, teams of 20 or more students had to raise funds, design a team brand, hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-sized robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors.

FIRST was founded in 1989 and is a not-for-profit public charity designed to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology, and to motivate them to pursue education and career opportunities in science and technology fields.