The robotics team at Athens Bible School will travel Nov. 2 to Little Rock, Arkansas, to compete in the annual BEST Robotics Competition.

Known as the Trojan Robotics, or Trobotics, Team, this year’s ABS group is made up of six girls and 16 boys, more than triple the team’s starting size in 2006.

At the BEST Robotics Competition, the team will be given a set of specific challenges or tasks to be completed by a robot they have built. This year’s theme is “Current Events” and it centers around a simulation of collecting trash and removing it from the ocean.

The robot must be suspended from wooden beams, which represent the ocean’s current, and collect trash out of structures. A driver for the robot, an engineer and a scientist will be on the playing field.

Each round lasts 3 minutes, with the team working together to strategically score as many points as possible in that time. If they succeed in placing in the top 4 teams in the competition, they will advance to the next level, which will be held during the first weekend of December in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

About BEST

The Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology Robotics Competition started in 1993 with 14 schools participating. The organization has now grown to include more than 800 schools in the competition.

There are more than 42 competition sites across the United States.

BEST Robotics Inc. lists itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. For more information on the organization or competitions, visit www.bestinc.org.