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DAVIDSON, N.C. – Teenagers from across the country Saturday got a start on designing and building robots in anticipation of the U.S. First Robotics Competition.

Teams are given close to two months to design, build and program robots to perform specific tasks.

“A robot is a very complex machine. It has its mechanical frame, it has its transmission and gears, which many people are familiar with with their cars, but it then it has to have an electrical panel to be able to drive this robot,” Marie Hopper, with N.C. First said.

Nearly 2,000 teams from 50 regions will be participating in the competition. Robot construction must be complete by Feb. 23.