A team of students from École Desrochers returned from a Lego-sponsored robotics competition in Edmonton with an award for their efforts, complete with a trophy made out of yellow Lego blocks.

The team won the “Against All Odds” award from the First Lego League for putting together a competitive robot despite numerous challenges that stood in their way.

“I suppose it’s for underdogs,” team member Martin Kreiner said, noting that their robot received a “middle of the pack” score in the competition.

That was in spite of the fact that two members of the already smaller than average team were sick. The French students had also misunderstood one of the many rules written in English, with a minor but important detail getting lost in translation.

“‘No part of the robot can be outside of the base,’” Kreiner said, reading out the rule. “And we had it programmed so that only the wheels had to be inside the base.”

The “base” refers to a particular section on the official “tournament table” upon which the competition takes place. It’s on that field of play that the student designed and programmed robot must complete a series of missions completely independently.

That means no real-time input from the students is allowed. All of the commands must be programmed into the robot ahead of time, and then the automaton is set loose on the table to rack up as many points as possible within an allotted time.

All of the competition robots work off the same set of motors and computers, but it’s up to the students to design the physical bodies of the devices out of Lego blocks and then program the computers however they see fit.

Using a variety of sensors to help the robot know where it is in space and in relation to other objects, there are multiple methods to accomplish the numerous missions. Prioritizing between missions is also a key strategy for teams looking to maximize their scores.

The First Lego League has been around since 1998 and “is designed to show kids how exciting science, technology, and engineering can be.” Participation has grown from just over 200 teams in the inaugural year to nearly 17,000 teams from dozens of countries around the world last year, according to the organization’s website.

The Desrochers team has been working on their robot since last October. Initially they tinkered with it during school hours but the students said soon that stretched into lunchtime and after school, as well.

The competition not only involves the robot’s performance but also an interview by a jury of judges, who ask the students to explain their research, design decisions, programming choices and overall strategy.

“They ask you about everything,” said teacher Luc LeClerc, the team’s supervisor.

The Desrochers team was up against about 50 others in Edmonton, all vying to make it to the next stage of the competition.

“When you win the Alberta part you can go to St. Louis, USA, for a big competition,” LeClerc said. “And there you are in a big stadium with the crowds.”

And though they didn’t win, the students seemed to have enjoyed the experience and their “Against All Odds” trophy.

According to the First Lego League: “This award goes to the team that improvises and overcomes a difficult situation while still making a respectable showing, with an attitude that shows, ‘We can overcome incredible odds if we never give up, no matter what!’”