What is BEST? IKEA Furniture w/o Instructions? OR Training Future Engineers?

If you’ve ever purchased a piece of furniture from IKEA, you’ve had the well-known experience of opening the box to many individual parts. After digging through those pieces, there are instructions on how to put together your brand new Best? Burs. Once it’s finished, you realize the extra piece you thought was missing somehow rolled to the other side of the room. Then, ponder whether that piece is essential because everything seems to work just fine. You probably end up taping it on the inside of a drawer or bottom of the fixture in case, ultimately forgetting about it.

In BEST Robotics, there are no instructions nor a manual to show you the final project. The teams have the challenge of imagining ways to build a robot to best complete a task. Teams are only allowed to use objects provided in the box given to them on Kick-Off Day. Each team then has six weeks to meet, brainstorm, and build for the competition. Other than Mall Day, usually two weeks until Game Day, teams will not have access to an official field. However, they are given the dimensions of the field and can build one on their own.

So how does a no-instruction program with minimal limitations work? Creativity and logistics play a huge role at this point. During the brainstorming process, the questions are usually, how do we get the robot to complete these tasks individually? Okay, now how do we figure out how to do that task efficiently? Can we do multiple things at once? If we combine task A with task B, will it work, and how? A series of questioning gets thrown into a brainstorming discussion, which are then answered. Another team member may have a good idea but isn’t sure how to implement it. Someone else might say, “Hey, I think that can work if we use this instead,” and so on.

Some people may prefer instructions, which is perfectly fine. There is a layer of comfort in knowing a task has been completed correctly or how someone wants them. There is no right nor wrong between the two; they are mere preferences that people thrive on differently. Specific tasks require instructions, such as IKEA furniture, recipes, and driving. Some duties allow for more creative freedom, such as a college application essay prompt: “When I grow up, I want to be…”

Instructions or not, there is a level of satisfaction felt once someone has completed a job. In BEST, six weeks of work pay off once you’re standing on the field with your teammate and turn around to see your team cheering for you. The energy in the air is full of support and optimism. Sometimes drivers have bad rounds and sometimes spotters do, too. Your team might have a round that doesn’t go as planned, which calls for improvising. Your team cheers you once you get off the field as if you scored all the points possible.

Game Day isn’t the day for perfecting, but rather the day for improvising. There are new teams, new opportunities to build relationships. Your batteries are supposed to last so many hours, but what happens when they don’t? A few team members might be nervously pacing, wondering what to do because your team is next. Some teams have spare batteries and some teams share their spares. The community within BEST is built on people who may not have known each other, but they form together to support one another.

The BEST Robotics competition isn’t about having the best robot, but rather seeing all the robots created by a group of creative, innovative minds. The possibilities are limitless. The friendships formed from a simple battery share last for years. Later in life, when entering the job force, hiring managers will note the abilities you developed during your time competing in BEST Robotics. Not only was teamwork required, but innovation also thrived at its finest.

Had there been a manual, teams would compete with their knowledge of building a robot with instructions. They would be able to show the judges that they can follow rules and how to use machinery and tools required to build. Then, for the competition, robots that withstand the field and the tasks required would be the winning robot.

On the other hand, BEST Robotics offers students the opportunity to use their creativity. Judges will see how each team comes together to complete a project which requires an item and tasks to be completed by that item. High school holds some of the most important growth years. Right before we enter college, students form mindsets on how to interact with one another for projects.

Throughout the competition, students build an element of innovation while simultaneously physically building the robot themselves. These talents can be applied to future careers. Someone reviewing your application can say, “This applicant was given a task and was able to build a robot while working with teammates. There were essentially no rules to this, yet they formed imaginary solutions and made them happen,”

So, when building your IKEA furniture, please refer to the manual as needed unless you want your Best? Burs to end up as a pile of wood

Sarah “MeiMei” Santucci

University of Pittsburgh 2020

[email protected]

About BEST Robotics

BEST Robotics is a national 501 (c) 3 that delivers a free STEM education program and competition to middle and high school students. BEST Robotics mission is to make STEM education accessible and inclusive and to engage and excite students about engineering, science, and technology, ultimately inspiring them to pursue higher education and career opportunities in these fields. BEST is nationally supported by Toyota USA Foundation, Texas Instruments, and MathWorks

Founded in 1993, BEST Robotics Inc operates 41 licensed hubs across 14 states, serving approximately 900 schools and 18,000 students annually. Through partnerships with higher education, tech schools, and organizations, BEST Robotics’ hubs manage local delivery of the program with the help of 4,500 volunteers from hundreds of corporate and community supporters. 

BEST is supported by numerous corporations among them are Founding Partner Texas Instruments, Toyota US Foundation, and MathWorks.