The Shelton Robotic Revolution Team is one of four finalists in the international FIRST LEGO League challenge, for the team’s “Smart Sticker” design to protect consumers from contaminated food.
The team will be honored at an awards ceremony on June 19 at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington D.C.
There, they will learn which of the four finalists wins the grand prize in the contest: up to $250,000 in product development services from the program sponsor, Edison Nation, to professionally develop, produce and take their invention to market.
More than 19,000 teams from around the world submitted projects. The other three finalists in the contest are teams from Ohio, New York and Israel.
Shelton’s team, made up of sixth — seventh and eighth grade students at Shelton Intermediate School and Perry Hill School — developed the “Smart Sticker,” as their product.
The idea came after major power outages last fall, according to a press release from Alison Karam, who does public relations for FIRST LEGO League.
Having witnessed how refrigerated food in homes and grocery stores became undependable and unpredictable, the students conceived of a “Smart Sticker” to place on the outside of a refrigerated food container, such as an egg carton, that would show if the food had been stored at the proper temperature.
When properly stored, the sticker has a positive color, green. But if left outside the acceptable temperature range for an extended period of time, the sticker will irreversibly change color, to red, to indicate possible food contamination.
The “Smart Sticker” was originally designed to protect eggs, but additional research enabled the team to adapt its use for other products.
The team initially presented their idea to a panel of judges at the FLL Regional Qualifying Robotics Tournament and won the Champions Award.
Then they presented at the FLL Connecticut State Tournament and won the Best Innovative Solution Award.
That qualified them to apply for the FLL Global Innovation Award. They also applied for and received a provisional patent for their idea.
“It’s unbelievably exciting,” said John Niski, the adviser for the team.
“Even if we don’t win, just the amount of learning that has gone on with these students throughout the process has been incredible,” Niski said.
The students have learned about the patent process, researching product design, scientific applications to products and public relations, Niski said.
“It’s been a really great learning experience for them,” he said. “Clearly, we hope to win. But even if they don’t, they already have.”
SIS Robotic Revolution Team members include: Victoria O’Malley, Aravind Ravishankar, Sejal Bhargava, David Dzujna, Keyur Shah, Joseph Niski, and Raj Ganjikunta.
