Robot Team Build and Battle – Facebook Team Posts 6th Fastest Internal Time
Dozens of Robot Team Build events at Facebook have set some very fast internal robot build times. The current Facebook Robot Build Record is 28:30 (twenty eight minutes and thirty seconds) set on July 12, 2018. followed by 30:01, 32:30 (May 30, 2018), 32:42 (September 20, 2017), and 33:34 (August 9, 2018). The team pictured above set the 6th best robot build time at 34 minutes and 19 seconds. 45 minutes is the average build time across all groups so they beat the average by over 10 minutes!
What made this group particularly interesting was the contrast with most groups we see form Facebook; they were not engineers. We love to see groups – referred to as “non-technical” by their peers – excel at the robot building part of the event because it highlights how important teamwork and leadership are compared with actual technical knowledge. In other words, the robot event works with all types of groups because it is a team building event that uses robots more than it is a robot event that also includes team building.
Unlike other team building events where the outcome is symbolic, part of the appeal with building a robot is that it actually comes together and works and is able to do things! Teams have to get it right for the robot to work, therefore everybody is super engaged. What fuels competitive people as much as the desire to win is the desire not to lose.This visceral engagement is what makes for an amazing shard group experience and breaks down artificial barriers we keep in social situations. Great minds are working together to beat the other teams; keep the room air conditioned!
This group posted a time in the top 5% of all groups across all companies including many of the greatest engineers in the world. Though they struggled with some of the “hands-on” concepts, they more than compensated through their ongoing team dialogue and problem solving. Considering who they work with and where they work, software engineers and programmers at Facebook, it makes sense that they would be an adept bridge between technology and teamwork!
Thank you again Facebook for another stellar group and impressive teamwork and robot building!
Robot Team Building
