Steampunk on Messudarin


In the summer of 2008, during the summer holidays, we took a day trip to Tel-Aviv in order to take part in the hit Israeli television series, "Messudarim" (Rich-men). The show is about 4 entrepreneurs who made it big, by developing a gaming device that exercises its users while they play. The first season was very successful in Israel's booming technological community, where many children dream not of becoming actors and singers, but innovators of technology.

We asked the producers of the show if we, as a tech group immersed in innovation, could showcase our robot and present FIRST to a wider audience. The producers agreed to include FIRST, and us, in the third episode of the second season. So we got to work preparing our actor.

Last year's FRC robot was our star in the making, and we prepared it for a "close-up" by fitting it with a WALL-E style head and making it's Aluminum shine. We packed the robot into a car, along with it's controls and two small VEX robots and made our way to the shooting site.

When we arrived we were met with faces in awe (as always when we show the public anything connected to the FRC program) and started shooting right away. In the first sense the robot just drove past the two main actors but still the cast and crew were amazed by our driver's skill. In a later scene the robot had to hold a platter of sushi, drive through a doorway barely wider then itself, place the sushi on the office desk and drive out in reverse, all while the drivers were hiding behind the desk as not to be caught in the frame. This drove the spectators wild, and we were happy to say that none of it would be possible if not for FIRST, as we truly believe.

After we were all very excited to see our creation on national T.V., and hoped that all the Israeli people could see what FIRST and all its participants have achieved, The episode we took part in has finally aired on the last summer.


Click here to watch our robot taking part on the show.