roberto melendez abdiel mireles diego villeneuve christian welch alicia cabrera-mino jaya narain woo jeong byun kirstyn hein thomas moriarty david wise christopher williams . They spun the robot around, piloted it back to Luis at the edge of the pool, and looked at the judges, who stood in the control tent behind them. Every inch of PVC had a clear purpose. Mazzio said she saw a story in the untapped potential the four students represent. Jos Crdenas: And this week in Phoenix on Friday. They inspired those behind them to see that possibilities could exist. "We used a helium neon laser, captured its phase shift with a photo sensor, and manually corrected by 30 percent to account for the index of refraction," Cristian answered rapidly, keyed up on adrenaline. All rights reserved. Santillan has a catering business and a job at a restaurant. With no experience, 800 bucks, used car parts and a dream, this rag tag team goes up against the country's reigning robotics champion, MIT. "I've always had too many problems at school," he said. If they do, the act promises financial assistance for college. After those moments, the more complicated story starts. We need to talk a little bit about the movie. >> Make them go faster. >> They have a sense of social responsibility that was cultivated as being part of this team. Across campus, in a second-floor windowless room, four students huddle around an odd, 3-foot-tall frame constructed of PVC pipe. The films are putting the spotlight back on an underdog tale from 2004: How the Carl Hayden students entered the Marine Advanced Technology Education competition on a whim. Here's FRC 1726's pending robot design for the National Underwater Robotics Challenge (June 6-8, 2008). Vazquez met Chelsea Clinton before a screening at a Clinton Global Initiative event in Colorado. Jos Crdenas: Cristian, we're almost out of time. he asked. His brains and diminutive stature (5'4", 135 pounds) kept him apart at Carl Hayden. Team 842: Falcon Robotics Falcon Robotics Team 842 from the heart of Phoenix, Arizona won the Chairman's Award at the 2008 FIRST Championship. The actress Selma Hayek was a producer. Despite their subsequent challenges, the 2004 Carl Hayden robotics team has left a significant legacy. But Aranda was different from the rest of the group in another way. "I get chills sometimes. The leader of the 2004 team, Oscar Vazquez, graduated from Arizona State University (ASU), which he paid for by working construction jobs and through private scholarships. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Now the duo is killing it on their fourth John Wickand still keeping technology in check. By early June, as the contest neared, the team had the hang of it. Despite their subsequent challenges, the 2004 Carl Hayden robotics team has left a significant legacy. Aranda, 28, also went to culinary school. The schools robotics club is thriving today, inspiring students to learn about science and technology. WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. >> But the robot was only the beginning. Sam Escobar Contributor Sam's enthusiasm for makeup is only rivaled by their love of all things . The drivers, Cristian and Oscar, could make the bot hover, spin in place, and angle up or down. That and the fact that students socialized based on Mexican geography: In the cafeteria, there were Guanajuato tables and Sonora tables. It didn't give him a good feeling. High school girls build kick-ass robots | The Verge "Here you have kids that can compete and that clearly are innovative, that love to build and to fuel the country forward We need these kids, and they face these impediments.". There were 12 of themsix ocean-engineering students, four mechanical engineers, and two computer science majors. Its only opening was a small, half-inch pipe fitted with a one-way valve. By putting the battery system in the same housing as the onboard electronics, Team Falcon gave its ROV increased mobility and ballast. The front lawn is nothing but brown scrub and patches of dirt. In December 2014, WIRED contributing editor Joshua Davis published a book, Spare Parts, updating the kids story. It was only through the activism of friends in Arizona that Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) heard about his case and helped him obtain an immigration waiver to serve in the military. >> The other robots were like pieces of underwater jewelry. Now Its Paused, A Most Unusual Solution to a Very Serious Problem, Congratulations. Vazquez did two tours of duty in Afghanistan and now works for a railroad company. Now their story is playing out on the big screen. And they're not alone. What do you want to be deported as? The winter rain makes a mess of West Phoenix. Lorenzo's face still had its baby fat, but he'd recently sprouted a mustache and had taken to wearing a fistful of gold rings, a gold chain, and a gold medallion of the Virgin Mary pierced through the upper part of his left ear. He proposed housing the battery system on board, in a heavy waterproof case. He was one of three students singled out at his college graduation, receiving applause from the crowd in the stadium and that year's commencement speaker, President Barack Obama. Powered by obsessed film buffs, its a crowdsourced juggernaut thats older than Google and Wikipedia. Cameron and Ledge haven't taken Lorenzo to Hooters, nor have they retired. Oscar began by explaining that his high school team was taking on college students from around the US. . Filming on "Spare Parts," wrapped up in New Mexico late last year. Jos Crdenas: So, a lot of memories for you guys. One student then asks the Carl Hayden team what they are up to. Lajvardi leans over to his students and whispers to them not to shout "Hooters.". He liked it there. "It limited me a lot. The Team | Underwater Dreams On the other side of the neighborhood, Cristian lies on his bed and tries to picture the moisture in the clouds above. My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now? - IMDb That's why he decided to come to Cameron's meeting. The Ralph's grocery store near the UCSB campus is done up to look like a hacienda, complete with a red tile roof, glaringly white walls, and freshly planted palms. The team, not wanting to celebrate too loudly at the awards ceremony and insult the college teams, scurries to a nearby beach to whoop and holler. It allows him to see how a kitchen operates and gains him experience with a wide variety of dishes. Cristian Arcega and Lorenzo Santillan, two members of the 2004 Carl Hayden High School robotics team and Fredi Lajvardi, Carl Hayden robotics team coach talk about the documentary. He asked about motor speed, and Lorenzo sketched out their combination of controllers and spike relays. We didn't get a lot of attention at first, and then about a year afterward we were on your show, you were one of the first ones to actually pay attention to our story and after that there was a lot of media publicity and the movie stuff started coming out. He said he didn't want to be singled out as different from his teammates. This year, he left the military and took a job as a foreman in a locomotive repair and maintenance yard at BNSF railroad. The resulting film, "Underwater Dreams," uses a mix of new and archival footage to tell the tale of the 2004 competition and the legacy the team left behind at Carl Hayden Community High School. ultra-absorbency. The whole really is greater than the sum of its parts; the four boys on this team attain successamazing success, at thatonly because they work, think, and achieve together, always pooling their resources. New! Their robot springs a leak and the students come up with an inventive solution placing tampons in the case holding the sensitive electronics. Eye trauma. There's the excitement. It was the type of machine only an engineer would describe as beautiful. "What will you say," he asks, "to an American kid who does not get into a state university and whose family cannot afford a private college because that seat and that subsidy have been given to someone who is in the country illegally?". To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. A sign reads: Carl Hayden Community High School: The Pride's Inside. carl hayden robotics team where are they now. Classmates Oscar Vazquez, Luis Aranda, Cristian Arcega and Santillan did not have much money, experience or faith in themselves, but they made a robot nicknamed Stinky out of duct tape and materials from Home Depot. "Underwater Dreams": A story about the prize-winning Carl Hayden High People need to know that there are good people who happen to be undocumented, said Lorenzo Santillan, one of the four students from the 2004 Carl Hayden High School robotics team in Phoenix, Arizona. The first award was a surprise: a judge's special prize that wasn't listed in the program. Their nerves had calmed. Vazquez said he hopes audiences will see a hopeful message in Underwater Dreams. It is mostly a story of perseverance, of not letting obstacles keep you from pursuing your dreams," he said. He spends his summers driving a recreational vehicle across cooler parts of the country. Cameron was the computer science teacher sponsoring Carl Hayden's robotics program. ", Santillan, who has been involved in immigration activism, has seen the legacy of his team how it has lifted up the expectations of students in the neighborhood. He started taking classes in mechanical engineering and design at Maricopa Skill Center and Gateway Community College. Contact [emailprotected]. After a few small prizes were handed out (Terrific Tether Management, Perfect Pickup Tool), Merrill moved on to the final awards: Design Elegance, Technical Report, and Overall Winner. Oscar wipes the white gypsum dust from his face. Thank you all for joining us on "Horizonte." "I tried my best not to let (my legal status) stop me from doing anything," he said. Turns his back on a gang to join the robotics team, feeling a sense of true belonging for the first time in his life Learns the importance of creativity by watching his cousins repair cars in the drivewaytheir impromptu auto shop Nicknames the team's underwater ROV "Stinky" Luis The team arrived at the Olympic-size UC Santa Barbara pool on a sunny Thursday afternoon. And Luis Aranda, the . The remarkable story of the ragtag, but ultimately world-famous Falcon Robotics Team from Carl Hayden High in Phoenix unfolded in 2004. Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the A feature film based on the story, starring comedian George Lopez, is scheduled for release in January, Filming on "Spare Parts," wrapped up in New Mexico late last year, He was one of three students singled out at his college graduation, receiving applause from the crowd in the stadium and that year's commencement speaker, President Barack Obama, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Their families can barely support themselves, let alone raise the money to send their kids to college. The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. Arcega, 26, entered Arizona State University after graduation but lost his scholarship after state voters passed an initiative that barred state assistance to people in the country illegally. Ten days later, Vazquez had his visa. Spare Parts - Arizona PBS The high-flying Falcons (from left): teacher Allan Cameron, Lorenzo Santillan, Oscar Vazquez, Cristian Arcega, Luis Aranda, and teacher Fredi Lajvardi.