Dean Kamen, Lego, children, and biomedical engineering are not an intuitive mix of elements, but they're all part of the FIRST Lego League Body Forward Challenge.
Inventor Kamen's FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization is sponsoring the challenge--now in its eleventh year--in more than 50 countries, aimed at the 9- to 14-year-old set. "Every FIRST LEGO League Challenge...has helped children discover how imagination and creativity combined with science and technology can solve real-world problems," says Kamen."Body Forward" is a two-part robotics challenge that requires research to complete the project phase, and science and engineering to master the complex missions of the robot game phase. In the project phase, teams will research a body part, function, or system; create an innovative solution to protect, repair, heal, or improve it; and share their solution(s) with the global community. In the robot game phase, teams will confront some of today's medical issues and apply robotics, sensor technology, and ingenuity to solve them. Robot missions in the FLL Challenge range from the familiar, including bone repair, rapid blood screening, and pace makers, to the futuristic, such as nerve mapping, bionic eyes, and object control through thought. The robots, designed by the children and built using LEGO MINDSTORMS technologies, will require a variety of mechanical capabilities to accomplish the missions set forth in the Challenge.
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