Northeast Scala Symposium
2023

David Walend

The Firefly Coders (FLL Team 55856) are a group of 5th grade girls who started programming Lego Ev3 robots using Scala in 2022 - as 4th graders. David Walend is a seasoned Scala developer and the technical lead on the SHRINE project at Harvard University's Clinical and Translational Science Center. He has been coaching First Lego League teams for 5 years. Two years ago he developed a Scala-based library for the Lego Mindstorms Ev3.

Scala on the Ev3 for FIRST Lego League

Abstract - The Firefly Coders use Scala to program Lego Ev3 robots for a FLL competitions. We will introduce FLL, show a robot completing some missions, and show two abstractions that work well for 5th graders. We will talk about the good, bad, and ugly of being young programmers using Scala for robotics.

The Firefly Coders - a First Lego League team made of 5th-graders - use Scala to program Lego Mindstorms Ev3 robots for competitions. We will introduce FLL Robotics, show a robot completing some missions, and tell the story of how we all learned Scala so that one team member with severe dyslexia can help program. We will show a pair of abstractions that work well for 5th graders, and go over the good, bad, and ugly of using Scala to compete with kids four years older than us.