The Sherborn-based Brain Busters robotics team took the top honors at the state championship competition held in Worcester. The team will be representing Massachusetts at the international championship to be held in Detroit this April.
The Brain Busters team is comprised of Ryan Bendremer (13), Zachary Szeto (14), and Riya Bahadur (14).
Returning to the state championship for the fifth consecutive year, the Brain Busters came away with the coveted Champion’s Award, securing their spot in the world championship. The team also won a separate award for robot performance. “We’re very excited to move on to the worlds,” said team member Zachary Szeto.
“It will be fun to meet teams from all over the globe,” added Riya Bahadur.
The robotics program also has a project component where teams from around the world create innovative solutions to a real-world problem related to a specific theme. This year’s theme was called “hydrodynamics,” and teams were asked to solve problems related to the human water cycle.
The Brain Busters looked at the serious problem of safe drinking water after a natural disaster or other interruptions in water supplies. The team was motivated by the devastating impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico’s water supply. The team’s investigation showed that it’s surprisingly common to have interruptions in public water supplies due to contaminates or other problems.
After extensive research, the team developed what they call SPEW, for Solar Powered Emergency Water purification. This low cost, portable system uses conventional filters and advanced reverse osmosis to make almost any water safe to drink. It operates on solar, battery, or plug-in power, and each unit can produce enough drinking water for several families. The system’s portability and ease of use makes it perfect to have on hand for natural disasters or to treat contaminants in the water supply.
The Brain Busters are working with peers and relief agencies in Puerto Rico to arrange field testing and possible deployment during the continued water crisis.
“It’s been amazing to collaborate with teams of our peers and emergency management experts in Puerto Rico and show them a solution that can really help out during this crisis,” said team member Ryan Bendremer.
This year, 255,000 students on 32,000 teams from 88 countries are participating in the hydrodynamics robotics challenge. The Brain Busters will be one of just a hundred teams worldwide that advances to the world championship in Detroit.
