SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – Bits ‘N Bytes won the Champions award at the First Lego League (FLL) Shrewsbury Qualifier held at Oak Middle School December 1.  48 teams competed for 13 awards, but more importantally to score a chance to compete at the State level competition to be held at WPI December 15.  14 such “Golden Tickets” were handed out to deserving teams after a long day of competing.

FLL 2012 theme is Senior Solutions – Independant, Engaged, Connected.  The competion consists of three equally weighed parts – the Robot Game, the Project, and the Core Values.

By winning the Champions Award, Bits ‘N Bytes scored highest overall amongst all teams.  Their project, an innovative product called the “CushUp” is a Pneumatic powered cushion that assists seniors to get up from a sitting position.  With no need for external power, this self contained product  is portable to allow usage practically anywhere.

The team took their idea to the seniors in town at Shrewsbury Crossings, where the idea was well received.  The team also enlisted the help of a local orthopedic surgeon, who was very impressed with the concept and the design.

Bits ‘N Bytes in their second year of existence as an FLL Team is comprised of four 8th Graders, two 7th graders and one 4th grader.  All team members are Shrewbury residents attending Oak Middle School (OMS) and Floral Street School (FSS).

Members -

Rohan Oberoi   - 8th Grade OMS
Jared Sarnie - 8th Grade OMS
Vikram Pathalam - 8th Grade OMS
Shivum Patel - 8th Grade OMS
Ashwin Pai - 7th Grade OMS
Cameron Morris - 7th Grade OMS
Niven Oberoi - 4th Grade FSS

Coach – Arvinder Oberoi