These Philly robotics kids wowed the world — and now they’re in the Hall of Fame

The members of Central High School’s robotics team weren’t even sure if they would qualify for the world robotics championship this year.

“We won nothing last season,” said Iris McLeary, a Central sophomore. “Even going to our district championships, we said, ‘We should have fun, do the best we can, and learn from others.’”

And while they didn’t win, the RoboLancers came home from Houston with the most prestigious honor their organization offers — the 2023 Championship FIRST Impact Award, which comes with a decade of automatic bids to the annual competition, a guaranteed place on the global robotics scene, and a permanent place in the FIRST Hall of Fame.

That is: The RoboLancers are now robotics rock stars.

The team gushes with pride over Lucy, the robot it designed, programmed, and built to collect cones and inflatable cubes as it competes in a game against other robots. Still, the RoboLancers finished in the middle of the pack of its worlds division, 39th of 78 teams.

What wowed judges was the Central team’s work around access and equity in science, technology, engineering, and math programs for Philadelphia public school students.

Through the Philadelphia Robotics Coalition, the team’s nonprofit, the RoboLancers — and the adults who assist them — actively support 143 robotics teams around the city, providing funding, training, workshops, events, and more for students in grades K-12. The organization has a budget of $400,000, including a $150,000 contract with the Philadelphia School District to provide afterschool programming for other schools. Thanks to federal stimulus money, its budget and reach is likely to double next year.

In the 24 years since the RoboLancers launched and seven years since the Robotics Coalition’s inception, the team has assisted thousands of their peers. Even as the RoboLancers perfect their own robot, they are working to give others the same opportunities they’ve been afforded.

“They have better technical expertise than I do. They’re the ones actually teaching the teachers,” Michael Johnson, a Central science teacher and the RoboLancers’ coach, said of his team, which has 168 members. (Funds meant only a few dozen could go to the world competition.)

A big part of Johnson’s job, he said, is saying yes when students dream big. That’s how the team’s reach has become so expansive.

“We don’t just talk about it,” Johnson said. “We do it. The only reason I can say yes is because they’ll actually come through.”

The students show up at events, mentor kids, and volunteer at competitions. They know that learning at one of the city’s top schools is an opportunity not afforded to all of their peers, and they take that seriously.

“The most interesting part to me is when you’re teaching a kid about things like angles and math and seeing them learn so much so quickly,” said Maja King, a RoboLancers senior and team president. “They all have the potential to learn, and aren’t given the same opportunity to.”

The outreach is particularly meaningful for Lilianna Sand, a sophomore. In her elementary school, a Philadelphia charter, she couldn’t have dreamed of competing on a robotics team, she said.

“Science was an afterthought, and not only did we not have the resources to get materials, they didn’t have the resources to teach it,” said Sand, who dreams of becoming an astronaut. “Now I’m here, and it’s something that everyone has access to. It’s just been really important.”

What comes next?

Though technically the official competition season is finished, the RoboLancers’ work is not. This weekend is RoboJawn, a competition the coalition is sponsoring at West Philadelphia High.

Longer term, the RoboLancers hope to focus more coaching attention and mentorship on technical teams. The team hopes its boosted profile allows for more sponsorships, more funds for mentorship and coaching.

Still, the realities of being Philadelphia public school students mean money is still an issue. It cost $55,000 to get 24 students, six adults, and 2,000 pounds of equipment to Houston for the weeklong competition, and the team is still fundraising to pay the bill.

They’ll figure it out, Johnson and the team say. They’ve already done the hard work, the work no one really dreamed of during the weeks they spent 20 hours in the shop building Lucy, planning, and staging events.

“This feels surreal,” said team captain Suraj Karumsi, a senior. “It feels really good. And it’s just the beginning; we’re in a really good place.”