On July 30^th, 2020, The KLA Foundation hosted its second annual RoboGames! The event, which grew from nine to thirteen participating teams in its sophomore season, was hosted via Zoom so that participants could demonstrate all the hard work they invested in both the preparatory build season and the white papers they wrote to satisfy the games’ newly incorporated writing component. This year’s RoboGames drew over 150 attendees for a fun-filled afternoon of celebration, innovation, inspiration and even a dance party. The following FIRST high-school robotics teams participated in the 2020 RoboGames: 

Awards and Winners 

A panel of KLA volunteers judged the participants, noting specifically that the impressive abilities of all teams made for some difficult decisions! Each award winner received a 3D-printed trophy designed by KLA’s own Christopher Loos. 

Community Enrichment – Event Horizon

Inspired by the KLA Foundation pillar, this award honors the team that exhibited outstanding philanthropic work to enrich our community. It is awarded based on how the team addressed diversity and inclusion, the sustainability and innovation of the team’s approach to community enrichment and the quantitative impact of the team’s work in the community.

Creativity – Homestead

In the midst of a challenging year, teams and individuals used creativity as an outlet. This award celebrates the team that applied particularly inspired design or development of a gizmo, gadget, software, process or other creative construction or concept.

Engineering Excellence – The Funky Monkeys

This award honors the team that applied an engineering process that was both simple and elegant in its inception, execution and realization. It is awarded to recognize the team that developed a cost-effective, manufacturable, serviceable, safe and ergonomic solution to a complex problem.

Health & Wellness – TKO

Inspired by the KLA Foundation pillar, this award recognizes the team whose short animation, image or other media best promoted a health, wellness or safety focus in the communities where we live and work.

Inclusion – The Apes of Wrath

As inclusion fosters diversity, this award celebrates the team that created an inclusive environment both inside and outside their robotics team.

Innovation – The Funky Monkeys

As innovation is at the heart of KLA, this award honors the team that proposed an innovative solution using automation and robotics to solve challenges in energy use, efficiency, production or another area of sustainability, and to improve lives while demonstrating economic and sustainability benefits.

Leadership – Sophie from B.R.E.A.D. and Kyle from Gear Heads

Inspired by the prestigious KLA employee leadership award, this award celebrates outstanding student leaders who exhibited exemplary passion, effectiveness, personal standards and team focus.

Outstanding Mentor – Jeffery Mullins from Presentation Invasion

This award, based on student nominations, celebrates an outstanding adult mentor who best lead, inspired, taught and empowered their team.

Software Engineering – B.R.E.A.D.

This award honors the team that developed a unique software solution to a problem faced in the 2020 INFINITE RECHARGESM season. Software was related to robot functionality or other aspects of FIRST robotics activities, such as CAD, CNC control, modeling, strategy, scouting, accounting, outreach, audio-visual processing and more.

The KLA Foundation would like to thank Theresa Bateman from FIRST Robotics and Christian Wolters from KLA for helping coordinate the event and for managing communications with the teams. Click here to read more about the programs offered by FIRST Robotics and how they are changing the future of STEM, and here to learn more about the KLA Foundation!