Lake Havasu's 'Mighty Minions' advance in global robotics competition

Nick Sullivan, Arizona Republic
·2 min read
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The Mighty Minions of Oro Grande Classical Academy in Lake Havasu City will participate in an international robotics competition this summer.
The Mighty Minions of Oro Grande Classical Academy in Lake Havasu City will participate in an international robotics competition this summer.

Seven students from the Lake Havasu Unified School District are advancing to take on robotics competitors from across the globe.

The occasion will mark the Oro Grande Classical Academy robotics team's second consecutive appearance on the international stage as part of a FIRST League competition. The league's name means "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" and aims to get kids excited about problem-solving through STEM.

The Lake Havasu City-based Mighty Minions, whose team name is a nod to the chaotic yet innovative characters from the "Despicable Me" franchise, won first place at this year's regional competition with their art therapy machine.

They also won a "core values" award for their "gracious professionalism" and "coopertition" —  a portmanteau meaning a willingness to cooperate with other teams even as you compete with them — during the Arizona state championship.

"It's very shocking for this season because almost 60% of the team is rookies," said Jeniene Knight, one of the team's two coaches. Four students joined the Mighty Minions this year after several others aged out of the program for 9- to 14-year-olds.

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This year's project, dubbed the "meditation creation station," is a tablet that uses artwork to manage stress and anxiety. A prototype designed for home use displays a virtual slideshow of paintings by team member and young artist September Schwaner. Scanners monitor vital signs such as heart rate and temperature, and an aroma diffuser sprays light scents of lavender, chamomile and vanilla.

"It helps bring you to a state of peacefulness and a meditative state of calm, and that could help everyone," Knight said.

Knight said the students are developing a voice analysis feature to determine a subject's mood and incorporating soothing sounds such as wind chimes and forest rain showers. They also plan to launch an accompanying app.

The Mighty Minions will head to Worcester, Massachusetts, for the Worcester Polytechnic Institute First Lego League Event from June 7-9. Their competition will be livestreamed.

Reach the reporter at nicholas.sullivan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lake Havasu robotics team advances in global competition