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School is out and eerily quiet, except for a gaggle of self-proclaimed "gear heads" who, like expectant parents, crowd one of the halls to watch 15-year-old Delian Asparouhov take Webb2 for a test spin.
The mechanized square of plywood whizzes into action, spinning out on the laminate floor.
"That's by design," explains Asparouhov, joystick in hand. "The wheels are supposed to have a low co-efficient of friction."
West High's Robotics Club, the school's first, is two weeks into a six-week "build season," leaving them little time to prototype and refine their masterpiece in time for a regional competition in Las Vegas, March 26-28.
Sponsored by FIRST -- For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology -- the competition aims to build problem solving skills and inspire the next generation of innovators and engineers.
For now, though, West High's team, some 30 students strong, has a singular goal: winning.
"Listen up guys, we've got a lot to cover today," says Graham Pedersen, ushering some of the students into a nearby classroom. The 17-year-old has been spending a lot of "shower time" dreaming up "game theory."
Another group huddles around a laptop writing sample code for the robot's navigational system while the mechanical designers hammer away on the nuts and bolts. "It doesn't have to be pretty," said Ian Freeman, 17. "But it does have to be built to spec."
The club even designed a Web site to track assignments and deadlines. In two weeks, they hope to hold a scrimmage match against Woods Cross High School. The robots must ship by Feb. 17.
The Las Vegas regional pits 48 teams (four of them from Utah) against each other in a sporting event. Winners are invited to a championship in Atlanta in April.
Each team has six weeks to build its robot from a common kit of mechanical parts. The game rules and robot specifications change from year to year, which is to West High's advantage.
This year's format is called Lunacy, a high-impact game played on a 54-by-27 foot low-friction field. The slippery surface and robot's hard, plastic wheels are designed to simulate driving on the moon.
Robots haul trailers and form alliances with others to collect balls of different sizes and then launch them into an opponent's trailer.
Whoever lands the most balls wins.
The competitions are raucous events drawing hundreds of spectators.
But West High parent Jay Verkler insists it's not about the glory.
It's about nurturing tomorrow's leaders, says Verkler. "They're learning how to group think, plan and use their knowledge in real-world applications."
That includes raising support, awareness and a $6,000 NASA grant.
The kids named their robot in tribute to Mick Webb, a beloved math teacher who died last October of cancer.
Verkler, a software engineer, is mentoring the group. The University of Utah has kicked in building space and equipment.
"But the whole thing is student-run," says West High physics teacher Dan McGuire. "Kids are like that. If you give them a challenge, they'll meet the challenge generally."