Students create robots with baseball skills for competition at Chase Field

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Many baseballs were being hit and thrown at Chase Field on Saturday morning, but not by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Instead, dozens of robots were on the grass programmed to play baseball.

The event was part of the second annual Future Shapers robotics competition hosted by the D-backs and Honeywell. Teams of students from 15 high schools across the Valley competed in building robots that can hit a foam baseball off a tee, pitch the ball accurately, and run the bases autonomously. The goal of the competition is to excite students about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects.

Honeywell employees were paired with each school to mentor the team. “The creativity we see out here today is what’s amazing. Building the machines, the different options we’re seeing with machines, the way the kids are setting them up and programming them, and then adjusting as they go, those are the kind of principals that are going to come in handy for them when they’re a scientist or an engineer or a technician someday,” said Honeywell CEO, Mike Madsen.

Each school received a Vex Robotics Starter Kit valued at $1,149 to build the robot and a pack of foam baseballs to practice. The kit can be modified for competition. There were monetary awards for first through third-place teams.

Tune in to Good Morning Arizona on Sunday morning to see the winning team and hear about their experience in the competition.

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