Development
The non-profit organisation HANDS on TECHNOLOGY has been organising FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) in Central Europe since 2001 and is part of the global FLL Community.
Development of participants for Central Europe since 2001
| Year | Teams | Regions/Countries | Participants in total | Girls (share) | Boys (share) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 955 | 67 (A, CH, CZ, D, H, PL, SK) | 6.585 | 16 % | 84 % |
| 2015 | 884 | 63 (A, CH, CZ, D, H, PL, SK) | 6.334 | 16 % | 84 % |
| 2014 | 835 | 57 (A, CH, CZ, D, H, PL, SK) | 5.937 | 17 % | 83 % |
| 2013 | 811 | 57 (A, BG, CH, CZ, D, H PL, SK) | 6.112 | 20 % | 80 % |
| 2012 | 846 | 54 (A, BG, CH, CZ, D, H PL, SK) | 5.578 | 21 % | 79 % |
| 2011 | 813 | 55 (A, BG, CH, CZ, D, H PL, SK) | 5.979 | 19 % | 81 % |
| 2010 | 740 | 52 (A, CH, CZ, D, H, PL, SK) | 5.380 | 17 % | 83 % |
| 2009 | 668 | 42 (A, CH, CZ, D, H, PL, SK) | 4.858 | 18 % | 82 % |
| 2008 | 614 | 42 (A, CH, CZ, D, H, PL, SK) | 4.490 | 22 % | 78 % |
| 2007 | 460 | 32 (A, CH, CZ, D, H, PL) | 3.220 | 20 % | 80 % |
| 2006 | 359 | 26 (A, CH, CZ, D, H) | 2.658 | 20 % | 80 % |
| 2005 | 281 | 21 (A, CH, D, H) | 2.127 | 19 % | 81 % |
| 2004 | 171 | 12 (A, CH, D) | 1.259 | 19 % | 81 % |
| 2003 | 104 | 8 (A, D) | 588 | 12 % | 88 % |
| 2002 | 39 | 6 (D) | 278 | 15 % | 85 % |
| 2001 | 16 | pilot tournament (D) | 78 | 35 % | 65 % |
Development of participants
FLL worldwide - international developement
Since 1998 FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) has been established all over the world for children and youngsters. FLL is a cooperational project of LEGO® Company and the foundation FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) started in 1998 in the USA. Dean Kamen the founder of FIRST® and initiator of the FLL in the USA outlines the establishment of FIRST® LEGO® League as follows: "We have to show our children that it can be more interesting to create a robot than just to play with it."
Within the 15 years of the existance of FLL the challenge could be established in more than 80 countries and was organized with more than 25.000 teams in 2014. The non-profit organization HANDS on TECHNOLOGY e.V. is one of the many partners in the world wide FLL Community and is running the robotics competition in 7 countries in Central Europe.
History of FLL
The FLL challenge topics orientate themselves around current developments of research and society. Here you can find an overview about the past challenges:
FLL 2014 - FLL World Class
835 teams have been taking part in the FLL World Class Challenge and explored the classroom of the future. They redesigned how we gather knowledge and skills in the 21st century. Teams could teach adults about the ways they need and want to learn.
FLL 2013 - Nature's Fury
811 FLL teams explored the awe-inspiring storms, quakes, waves and more that we call natural disasters. They have discovered what can be done when intense natural events meet the places people live, work, and play.
FLL 2012 - Senior Solutions
846 FLL teams have explored the topic of aging and how it may affect a person’s ability to maintain his or her lifestyle. They tried to find out how to improve the quality of life for seniors by helping them continue to be independent, engaged, and connected in their community.
FLL 2011 - Food Factor
813 FLL Teams tried to solve food safety problems with the help of their robot and researched ways to improve the quality of food. They have been looking into different fields e.g. avoiding unsterile processing and transportation or unsanitary preparation and storage of food.
FLL 2010 - Body Forward
740 FLL Teams explored the cutting edge world of Biomedical Engineering. They discovered innovative ways of repairing injuries, overcoming genetic predispositions, and maximizing the body's potential. All with the intended purpose of leading more valuable and healthier lives.
FLL 2009 - Smart Move
The key to the 2009 "Smart Move" Challenge was accessing people, places, goods and servicesin the safest, most efficient way possible. More than 660 teams considered many modes of transportation beyond their daily routine and streamlined their options by making smart moves!
FLL 2008 - Climate Connections
The Climate Connections challenge was all about the correlations climate had, has and will have on our lives. More than 600 teams discovered the links between science, people, resources and communities and explored the climate connections.
FLL 2007 - Power Puzzle
The challenge "Power Puzzle" is all about the basic understanding of energy use. Just as our world is growing and changing, the energy demand does. More than 3000 participants in 6 countries got involved into different types of energy and found out about their impact on our world.
FLL 2006 - Nano Quest
Nanotechnology is a new scientific frontier that will impact many facets of society, from medicine to computers to the environment. The nano world is 100,000 times smaller than the thickness of a single strand of hair. More than 350 teams wanted to find out more about the "Nano Quest" in Central Europe.
FLL 2005 - Ocean Odyssey
The water on our planet keeps lots of surprises hidden in it. More than 2000 kids researched oceans, rivers and lakes within "Ocean Odyssey". See, program and research yourselves ...
FLL 2004 - No Limits
The scientist Dr. Justin Case presented a new area of robot technology to more than 170 teams in 12 different regions: robots may help handicaped people in their every-day life.
FLL 2003 - Mission Mars
In the limelight there is outer space and planets that are far away: "Mission Mars" fascinated more than 100 teams with more than 700 participants. For the first time an austrian FLL Tournament has been taken place.
FLL 2002 - City Sights
More than 300 kids took part in the challenge "City Sights" in 2002. They explored the challenges that urban planners face in order to provide basic services.
FLL 2001 - Arctic Impact
The first tournament in Germany! 16 teams traveled to far away arctic regions to study global climate changes and the potential impact of global warming on humanity.