At the 2011 FLL Dublin Regional Robotics Qualifier, the J. R. Trippe Robotics Team, The Short Circuits, placed first overall of fifteen robotics teams. The challenge consists of a presentation designed to solve a particular problem in society. The topic this year was called Food Factor and was to solve any aspect of bacterial contamination, pesticide issue, or transportation issue. The Short Circuits, led by Jarred Fountain, designed a presentation using Prezi describing how genetics could be used to make certain plants resistant to insects by producing a natural pesticide. They also discussed planting Dionaea muscipula and other carnivorous plants around crops.

The Robotics Challenge course was designed by Lego. The students had to design a robot and program it to complete certain tasks on the field. The robot had to be small enough to fit through some of the field elements but massive enough to carry other elements back to base. Students were not allowed to touch the robot while the robot was on the field completing the tasks. Remote control and blue tooth were also not allowed.

The top five teams at the event were The Short Circuits, the Jagwires, the Futiristics, the Blue Road Runners, and East Laurens Middle School.  

      The teams were judged based on their Teamwork, Gracious Professionalism, Creativity in Robot Design, Ingenuity, and Reliability. This year was the first year that the Short Circuits have competed in the FLL Robotics Challenge.   The top five teams were very close in points and the judges had to deliberate for extended time in order to determine the order for the top five teams. The J. R. Trippe Robotics Team placed at the Region competition and will Advance to the Super-Regional Competition held in Warner Robins Jan 7th. If the team places at Warner Robins, they will advance to the Georgia Tech Competition held in Atlanta Jan 28th.

      The Project Manager for the team was Jarred Fountain, Bennett Moore was the Chief Engineer, Zeel Mehta was the Head Programmer, Ethan Warnock was the Lead Table Coordinator, and Ben Gourley, Shane Moore, Randall Dixon, Christian Scott, Nicholas Owens, and Aeden Ikner were all Engineers and Programmers. Mr. Ikner, a science teacher at Vidalia High School, was the instructor for the team.  

From left to right

Ethan Warnock

Ben Gourley

Jarred Fountain

Jeff Ikner

Zeel Mehta

Bennett Moore

Shane Moore