Texpand, a South African youth robotics team, recently made history by winning the 2024 FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) World Championships. The team’s success was assisted, in part, by high-tech polymer components donated by igus.
According to team Director and mentor, Greg Buckle, the victory not only highlighted the potential of South Africa's youth in the global robotics arena, but also showcased how the collaboration between industry and education can lead to extraordinary results.
He explains the FIRST Tech Challenge is a prestigious international robotics competition designed to ignite a passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) among high school students. Teams of young school-going ‘engineers’ are tasked with building and programming robots to perform specific tasks in competitive matches designed to mimic real-world engineering challenges. Each season, teams face a brand-new robotics game and are given about four months to design, build and refine a robot to outscore their opponents. The 2024 FTC World Championships had over 200 teams from across the globe vying for the title.
Texpand, a community team based in Cape Town, consists of students aged 12 to 17 from diverse backgrounds. Their passion for STEM, coupled with their mission to make robotics accessible to students across South Africa, has driven them to success on both national and international stages.
“A turning point for our 2024 season came when igus donated various polymer components to us through their Young Engineer Support programme, including Drylin linear guides, telescopic rail slides and energy chains. We soon found out why these are renowned for their performance, durability, and lightweight design, enabling us to build our innovative robotic arm with seven degrees of freedom – a feature that was instrumental in sealing our victory,” says Buckle.
Texpand’s win demonstrated their engineering prowess and earned them the coveted first place Control Award. This award recognises innovative thinking in solving game challenges through autonomous operation, intelligent control and the integration of sensors. Their robot's exceptional control system, driven by igus' advanced mechanical solutions, was a defining feature that helped them dominate the competition.
“Following our victory, we have launched our IGNITE programme, an international initiative to expand robotics education in South Africa. Through this programme, we hope to secure more resources and sponsorship to start new teams and provide opportunities for young students nationwide to participate in FTC,” Buckle added.
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