A team from Lower Dauphin High School in Hummelstown, PA, won the PLCnext Innovation Contest, hosted by Phoenix Contact. A pilot program was launched this year to transition from the former Nanoline Content into the new PLACnext Generation Contest, which will formally launch in the 2025-26 school year.
The PLCnext Generation Contest enables students to showcase their talent and technical skills in designing and building an automation project. Students will work in a team environment, enhancing their technical skills along with their interpersonal and project management skills as they collaborate with others to finalize their entry. The PLCnext Generation Contest demonstrates that the world of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) can be fun and exciting.
The winning team built “Operation: Falcon Nation,” a giant operation game featuring their school mascot. They used structured text within PLCnext Engineer software to program the game.
