Fifteen students at a Seattle-area high school are using Altair Engineering's OptiStruct software to help build robots for the national FIRST Robotics competition.

FIRST which stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" is an annual robotics competition. It aims to build science, engineering and technology skills in young people, of high school age.

As part of the challenge, a team of young people and their mentors are asked to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard "kit of parts" and a common set of rules.

The team from Jackson High School in Mill Creek, Wash., which joined the FIRST competition for the first time this year, worked with their career technical education instructor Maggie Thorleifson, Boeing (News - Alert) engineer Brian Gattman and four other mentors, to learn about robotics and engineering from scratch. The robot they constructed will enter in the regional competition this month as part of the Lunacy games, sponsored by FIRST.

According to company officials, Altair OptiStruct is a finite element based software for both structural analysis and design optimization. OptiStruct is used to design, evaluate and improve performance of mechanical structures.

Mentor Brian Gattman said the Jackson team specifically used Altair's OptiStruct to do topology optimization for the robot. For example, the application showed them that they needed to add a cross member to the back area of the robot to help stiffen the frame to support linkages.

This is the same software used by Boeing in the design of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Monetary and software grants awarded to the team by Boeing and Altair also helped the students in the construction of the robot, officials added.

Talking about his experiences with the Jackson team, Mentor Joris Poort commented,   "For us to see kids use the tools that we use in the industry, like Altair software, is really a powerful thing."

The FIRST program also encourages innovation and fosters well-rounded life capabilities, including self-confidence, communication and leadership. 

Students of Jackson High School who participated in the competition uniformly report improved social skills, increased ability to work in a team, faster understanding of concepts and better grades at school. 

Altair, a global provider of technology that strengthens client innovation, has a 20-year-plus track record for innovative product design and development, advanced engineering software and grid computing technologies. With more than 3,000 corporate clients representing the automotive, aerospace, government and defense, and consumer products verticals, Altair also has a growing client presence in the life sciences, financial services and energy markets