Exide Technologies Supports Students' Technological Advancement And Aspirations to Exceed

Exide-sponsored Team is a Division Champion and National Finalist

PRINCETON, N.J., June 14 -- A team of 37 technologically savvy Detroit-area high school students built a battery powered robot named Cornelius III that recently became a division finalist and snagged a 5th place tie among 291 competitors in a national robotics contest in Orlando, FL. The 5-foot tall, 130-pound robot, powered by two lead-acid batteries, also led the Detroit team to the title of Archimedes Division Finalist in the competition held at Walt Disney World.

With the help of Exide Technologies, the team known as "Las Guerillas," -- comprised of students from various high schools across Oakland County, Michigan, near Detroit -- participated in the 2002 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition finals. The competition encourages young people to pursue applied scientific advancement. Exide Technologies is the global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions. FIRST is a non-profit organization that pairs businesses and universities with high schools to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science and technology.

In addition to its Las Guerillas team sponsorship, Exide Technologies supported the entire FIRST organization by supplying more than 1,200 lead-acid batteries to serve as the main power source for all the teams' competing robots this year. Additional team sponsors were NACHI Robotics, Faurecia, Norgren Automotive, Citation Tool, Schenck-Motorama, Lawrence Technological University and Lahser High School and International Academy.

During the first six weeks of the FIRST competition season, high school students from around the country and engineers from businesses and universities work as a team to design and build a robot that solves a problem using a standardized kit of parts and a common set of rules. This year, the teams and their robots competed in "Zone Zeal," in which robots collected soccer balls, put them into goals, then moved the goals into specified zones in order to earn points -- all in less than two minutes. Throughout the season, the teams put their robots to the test at a series of regional tournaments leading up to the national finals.

Las Guerillas captured first place in two of those competitions -- the Buckeye Regional Tournament and the Great Lakes Regional Tournament. In addition, the team was awarded the Johnson & Johnson Sportsmanship Award at the Great Lakes tournament. This award is bestowed on the team that exhibits gracious professionalism on and off the field.

The FIRST 2002 season culminated at the national finals at Disney World's Epcot Center, April 25-27. More than 290 teams were randomly placed in one of four divisions named for famous scientists: Archimedes, Curie, Galileo and Newton. Each team first competed within its division, and the eight highest- ranked teams in each division automatically advanced to the division finals. The emerging divisional winners, including the Las Guerillas team, advanced to the finals to vie for the title of national champion.

"We're excited about how well we competed against other talented teams on a national level," said Gail Alpert, team coordinator for Las Guerillas. "We couldn't have done it without the support of Exide Technologies. Exide provided the lead-acid batteries we needed to power the robot and also offered invaluable team support. The batteries played an integral part in keeping the robot in competition."

At the start of this year's season, each team received a package of parts that included two 12-volt sealed gel technology lead-acid batteries supplied by Exide Technologies. These rechargeable, leakproof batteries are used to power pneumatic cylinders, pumps and motors essential for the operation of each robot. In everyday life, the batteries have more than 150 uses, including burglar and fire alarms, portable jump-start kits for cars and small backup systems for home computers.

"Las Guerillas did an exemplary job at the national competition, and we are inspired by the team's fighting spirit, its commitment to technological advancement and its aspirations to excel," said Craig H. Muhlhauser, Chairman and CEO of Exide Technologies. "Tomorrow's technology comes from today's science students. That's why we are proud to support these talented young people in pursuit of their drive to learn and find better ways to advance science."