[Rick TYler]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

High Schools to Compete in High Energy International Challenge

MANCHSTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, January 19, 2008 –

High school students from around the world came together today to learn about this year's FIRST robotic challenge. The competition was announced at the Olin College Woodie Flowers Coliseum to a live audience of 45,000 students and journalists, and to over a billion people via international 3DCast. The GlobeNet immediately suffered performance problems as over 250,000 perspective participants started VMing each other about the meaning of the term "Loading Zone."

As in previous years, the students will compete with over 9,500 other teams nationwide in regional tournaments, continental championships, and the world title tournament, scheduled for May 7-10 in Bora Bora. As has been the case since last year, all teams are funded in full by the Bill and Melinda Gates and Steve Jobs foundations.

This year's competition will be the first in which the teams will be using high-energy devices to trigger a variety of electrical targets. The teams will be provided with carbon dioxide lasers and plasma generators, as well as some yet-undisclosed inventions of Russian physicist Nikola Tesla. Robots will be guided strictly by internal programs, but humans can transfer high-level commands via tight-beam laser communicators.

“We are excited about this program, and think it is a terrific test of engineering, scientific and organizational skills, as well as a great forum for the medical community to work on their advanced burn treatment techniques,” said Dave Lavery, Vice President for Rules of FIRST. “We are always looking for challenging trials for the students, and they are excited about the chance to use really dangerous technology.” Lavery went on to say that, inexplicably, there are still no water features in the game

About FIRST

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a multinational non-profit organization, that aspires to transform culture, making science, math, engineering, and technology even cooler than it is now. Since the elementary and middle school versions of FIRST were launched in 2006, more students now build robots than play soccer.

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