Founded in 1995, the Cybersonics team is comprised of a group of 25 students from Palisades High School in Kintnersville, Bucks County, PA; just an hour north of Philadelphia. Joining the FIRST Robotics Competition as Team #103 out of 8,000, the team started a tradition dedicated to excellence which has continued into the new millennium. At first only a focus for technology-based interests, Cybersonics has since expanded into communications, web design, graphic design, business and journalism. Team 103 has been outstandingly successful in it's twenty-five year tour, winning myriads of awards in all areas of competition. The pinnacle of their achievement was reached in 2003, when the Chairman's Award was received, the highest honor bestowed upon a team. This award is reserved for those who truly embody the vision of Dean Kamen: becoming the epitome of gracious professionalism and role-models for others. As a part of FIRST Robotics, the Cybersonics team prides itself on the impact they make in their rural community, with students, alumni and other teams involved in the organization. They achieve this through the motivation of students who bring about a strong sense of team unity and propel the team as they continue to progress into the future. Cybersonics inspires students to discover and pursue their passions as well as FIRST’s mission through a commitment to teamwork, problem solving, gracious professionalism and visions for the future. Cybersonics has developed itself as one of FIRST’s premier teams in Pennsylvania by setting an example and standard for other teams to emulate.
FIRST Robotics Competition is a league of thousands of high school robotics teams from across the globe. Every year, a new game is given, and Cybersonics' build season starts. Each team must build a robot that will be able to overcome the challenges of the game. |
About FIRST Robotics Competition
The mission of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is to encourage students of all ages to pursue scientific or technical careers, to build self-confidence and to develop problem solving skills. Founded in 1989 by famous inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, the competition has grown from its small beginning to more than 1,300 active teams with more than thirty-two thousand students. For high school students, the FIRST Robotics Competition challenges teams to create a robot capable of playing a "universal game." Optional areas of judging include the Autodesk Visualization Award (a 30 second computer animation), Website, Autodesk Inventor Award, and Entrepreneurship. However, as founder Dean Kamen might say, “FIRST isn’t about robots. It’s about people”. Teams of people in fact, students working together with experienced mentors and generous sponsors, to strive for excellence and elegance, a concept best verbalized as “gracious professionalism”.