Prepping for a competitive team event during a pandemic is no easy feat, but the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) team at Flat Rock Middle preserved with amazing results. 
In a year of hybrid schedules, virtual learning, and the uncertainty of whether or not schools could remain open, three returning members of Flat Rock Middle’s FLL team were determined not to let the pandemic keep them away from competition. The enlisted the help of four other schoolmates to form team R.O.C. (Robotic Over Complicators) and took the Champion’s Award at the DeKalb-Fernbank Regionals Competition.
Champion’s Awards are given to teams that embody the FLL experience by fully embracing the core values while achieving excellence and innovation in both the robot game and research project.
The team took first place in both the research project and robot design, and second place in core values. Team members are Devon Nandial, Gavin McClure, Laura Ann Lawton, Jack Jung, Madison Lohr, Lincoln Thompson and Alex Arnsdorff. They are coached by Melissa Lohr.
Each year FLL teams are tasked with solving a problem that will make people’s lives better. This year they were asked to solve the problem of inactive lifestyles.
Team R.O.C. determined that more people might embrace working out if they could do it in the privacy and safety of their homes, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on causing some people to avoid going to gyms. However, the problem with working out at home is lack of space.
So, enter the Flex Bed, it’s a bed and gym all in one. To work out, simply lift the end of the bed up, lock it in its upright position, and utilize the gym equipment underneath that provides a full body, balanced workout complete with flexibility, aerobic and strength exercises. When done, flip it back down and take advantage of its other use, sleeping.
The team is advancing to the Georgia Tech virtual state championship where they will compete against 29 other teams from around the state. Results will be announced on March 13.
The FLL team at Flat Rock Middle was the only team in the school system that registered to compete this year.
Working around the hybrid schedule where team members didn’t attend school on the same day was a challenge, but the team committed to holding extra after school meetings to accommodate both hybrid A and hybrid B members, and they made good use of Zoom. They even made extra robots so that they could build attachments from home in case the school had to go into a full-time virtual learning environment.
“When they were all together they had to make every moment count, and I am ridiculously proud of them, and all that they’ve accomplished so far,” says their coach, Melissa Lohr.
