All girl NC robotics team prepares for world championship in Texas

JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The buzz that echoed inside a Johnston County neighborhood's garage came from a very mobile machine.

Meet Hellcat, the robot made and controlled by the all-girl team called G-Force Robotics. They're preparing for a world championship competition next week in Houston.

"There are 12 girls from 10 different schools, in high school and most are sophomore to senior---I think that robotics is a great outlet for those who are interested in robotics directly and for those looking to build up leadership and marketing skills," coach, Leigh Dement told ABC11.

We watched them put Hellcat through its paces before they handed the controls over to reporter Anthony Wilson and the videographer, who learned controlling the robot was not as easy as it looked. We turned instead to an experienced team member for her perspective.

"Originally started in First Lego League, which is the middle school to elementary school level," said high school sophomore Sloan Mann. "And from there we moved up to the FRC level, which is First Robotics Competition."

Their coach is very proud of the team's achievements, one of only six out of 77 teams in the state that qualified this year for the world championship competition.

"The science skills actually translate very well. The hands-on, the problem-solving all applies," Dement said. "And it's something where not everybody becomes an engineer, but certainly helps."

Sloan Mann's looking ahead to possibilities after college:

"I plan on going into game design. My plan B is going to the Naval Academy to hopefully become a pilot. But I do still want to keep up with robotics, and hopefully do maybe Battle Bots in the future," she said.

Want to follow the team at the competition? Click here.