The Robotics mailing list is for anyone interested in general discussion related to robotics. This includes individuals who use LEGO Mindstorms, RoboLab and leJOS. List members also include those involved with team efforts such as FLL - First LEGO League, FIRST high school robotics, Robofest, and BEST competitions. The robotics mailing list is an online discussion group that includes conversation related to various team competition efforts and to educational resources related to robotics, programming, and computers. List members include homeschoolers and other educators, parents, programmers, engineers, and those involved with robotics clubs and activities from across the country.

You do NOT have to be a computer geek to join our list or have prior knowledge of robotics to participate. Anyone interested in finding out more about robotics and related fields is welcome to join our list, ask questions, and share resources.

This list was started by the founders of Taffie, the oldest statewide Texas homeschooling list. For more information about the Taffie mailing list, go to here:

Taffie Mailing List for Texas Homeschoolers

We've been using Lego Mindstorms for several years and participated in FLL First LEGO League - a team competition for 9-14 year olds. We also teach classes on a variety of computer-related topics including Java, 3D Graphics, game programming and robotics. We were the first Texas site to hold Robofest in 2005. Robofest Houston continued in 2006 and 2007. We are looking forward to hosting another Robofest in April, 2008. Robofest is for 5th-12th graders with the focus on programming. Our event includes both Junior (5th-9th grade) and Senior (9th-12th grade) game and exhibition divisions.

This mailing list and website are a result of our desire to continue to network with others interested in robotics and computers in education. We didn't want to limit the focus to just Texas, so that's why we didn't call the list taffie-robotics. We also didn't want to limit the focus to just LEGO Mindstorms or FLL, so the list is called "robotics" as a wide range of topics related to robotics will be covered. We hope this list serves as a means for others to network and share information both nationally and internationally about robotics. We encourage everyone interested in this topic to participate in the discussion list. We will continue to add to the resources and information on this website as time goes by. So check back often. If you have any links or resources to share, let us know. If you know of robotics events in your area, please let us know. Feel free to link our site with yours. Please feel free to contact us with any suggestions.

Our FLL journey: We've participated in FLL for several years now, first as the Magma Masters, then as Team BOB. We competed at the Arkansas FLL regional event for 2 years. In 2000 we won 1st place Rookie Award and the 2nd place Research Presentation Award. For 2001, Our Team BOB placed 3rd out of 50 teams and won a 1st place trophy for robot design. In 2002, we continued with Club BOB in our local area, a robotics club for families interested in robotics, computers, and education. For the 2002 FLL Challenge CitySights, Team BOB continued it's award winning performance at the 2002 South Texas FLL State Competition in Houston. Team BOB was awarded the Director's Award, the highest award an FLL team can receive, came in 2nd place for robot performance out of 37 teams, and was a finalist for both research and robot design.

On April 11-12, 2003, top FIRST LEGO League (FLL) robotics teams from across the country gathered at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston for a special by invitation only competition for FLL. This competition was held in conjunction with the international FIRST High School Robotics Championship event at Reliant Stadium. FLL teams that won top honors in the 30 State Tournaments were invited to attend. A total of 2,600 US teams participated in FLL that season. Our Team BOB, the only Texas team to win a Director's Award, was among the 25 teams who competed at this event. Team BOB won the first place Research Presentation Award for its presentation of "Tomball: A City and a Robot to Solve Its Problems". For the 2003 Season - Mission Mars, we helped several teams get started and judged at South Texas FLL Competition in December, 2003. For 2004, NO Limits, we attended all 3 Texas competitions and continued to help new teams get started. Over 45,000 US students participated in NO Limits. For Ocean Odyssey 2005 and NanoQuest 2006, we were volunteer judges at the Lone Star FLL Championship Tournament in Houston, one of the largest US FLL regionals with over 80 teams. Power Puzzle - Alternative Engery Sources - Meeting the Global Demand, is the theme for 2007.

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