Four Packer teams — consisting of 39 students in Packer's Lower and Middle Schools — competed in the Brooklyn Borough FIRST® LEGO® League Robotics tournament on Saturday, January 12, 2013.

This year's theme was “Senior Solutions” and teams are challenged to look at innovative ways to make our aging population's lives easier and more healthy. The teams competed in four domains: 1) Research Project, 2) Robot Game Obstacle Course, 3) Technical Presentation, and 4) Teamwork.

Two of the teams earned awards in the “Research” category, qualifying them to advance to the city-wide robotics tournament on Saturday March 9 at the Jacob Javits Center.

See more photos from the Brooklyn Robotics Tournament >>

The Middle School Robotics team, The Bearded Bobs earned the “Innovation” award in research. The team interviewed seniors to learn about the many challenges they face at home. They created an app that can help make the communication connection between elders living at home and their caregivers more seamless. They shared their research with a senior center and there is potential to make this app an actual product! Stay tuned for updates on the future development of this innovative idea from the great minds of our Middle School team.

The 3rd Grade boys' team, Grandpa Bob's Whippersnappers, won the "Presentation" award for their research on how Parkinson's disease can be debilitating to an aging senior. They are developing a robot helper to assist with everyday tasks. The judges not only honored their presentation style, but also commented on their infectious enthusiasm and support for one another.

Packer Robotics also had its first all-girls robotics team, The Super Silly Senior Savers, with students from all three divisions making up the team. The judges at the event recognized the quality of research that went into their project on seniors having difficulty with transitioning from one place to another and the risk of injuries that happen if seniors fall.

Lastly, the 4th Grade boys' team, The Age Agents, focused on the problem of seniors forgetting to take their medications. They designed a "Portable Pill Reminder" robot to remind seniors when to take their medications and in the correct dosages. The judges recognized that the boys did an exemplary job in researching other devices that do the same job, and in making improvements to their own invention.

Congratulations to all the Packer Robotics competitors!