Shaping the Future.

World domination is never easy. Hannibal, Alexander The Great, and Augustus Caesar all tried it. But now it’s clear it might actually happen – except this time it’s with Bionic Tigers.

Loveland high school’s robotics team, The Bionic Tigers, just qualified to compete in the robotics world championship in Detroit, Michigan, where middle and high school students compete on indoor fields with robots they have designed, programmed, and built themselves.

The competition started in the Fall of 2019 with over 70,000 students and 6,500 teams from across the globe. Only 4% of teams have made it to the “First Championship” world competition which will be held this April. This is the first time in The Bionic Tigers’ history that they have qualified for the World Championship.

“We’re incredibly proud of their phenomenal achievement. Supporting the students and mentoring them through their design challenges has also been a great experience for our engineers at Kinetic Vision,” said Jim Topich, Senior Vice President at the company.

The 13-member Loveland team competed against 54 teams from Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia to clinch one of the 6 spots from the region that move on to the finals. 128 teams from around the world will compete for the title of world champion.

Each year the team has to build a robot from the ground up to meet the new challenges that the competition gives them. This year it is about finding, stacking, and moving large blocks in a specific area. Perfecting the performance of the robot is challenging – and teams reach out to business partners not only for financial support but also for help in mentoring solutions to tough software and mechanical problems.

“The input and mentorship we received from Kinetic Vision has enhanced our focus on continuous improvements and reliability. The robot is now consistently scoring almost three times our previous average. They really helped us get to a new level of excellence both on and off the field.” said John Rasmussen, business executive and Lead Mentor for the team.

In the world competition, the First Tech Challenge is the tier for grades 7-12, and is judged on several key areas, including how the teams “Promote, Think, Motivate, Connect, and Inspire.” The Loveland team placed in all five of these areas to win the qualification to compete at the world championship.

“Our commitment to STEM programs goes well beyond financial, since we see the direct impact these kinds of activities have on guiding students to pursue engineering and technology fields,” said Topich, adding, “seeing students experience the power of technology firsthand is simply inspiring.”