Emily Lung, 7, and her three teammates never thought their idea for a robotic fruit picker would turn out to be a winner in a national competition, but it did.

"We brainstormed what we had problems with and how to solve it," said Lung, a second-grader at 'Aina Haina Elementary School. Lung said she couldn't believe the team won.

Lung and fellow 'Aina Haina second-graders Maddy Bernstein, Paige Chang and Logan Uyeda — all a part of the school's gifted and talented program — entered their prototype robot into the 14th annual Toshiba/National Science Teachers Association ExploraVision Awards, one of the largest national science and technology competitions. They are among 24 regional winners of this year's competition and the only winning team from Hawai'i this year.

Even more exciting was the fact that the students were chosen from among 4,503 team entries, said Carolyn Acoba, teacher of the gifted and talented students at 'Aina Haina.

"They worked really hard. They deserve this," Acoba said yesterday after an award presentation at the school.

The competition challenges students to come up with technologies they think will help improve the world's quality of life 20 years from now.

For the 'Aina Haina students, it was the "Robo Fruit Picker" — a robot that uses sensors to find and pick ripe fruit on trees. The robot can reach high into branches and uses a cushioned funnel to bring fruit to the ground without bruising it. It was built with the idea of being more efficient than a human, said students.

"I can never reach the fruit on the trees," said Chang, 8, when asked to explain the group's inspiration.

Lung said that she always got "tangled in my grandma's fig tree" and that was why she thought the group should build the fruit picker.

Uyeda, 8, said the robot picker would make gathering fruits in tall trees safer.

One of the interesting features on the robot is a sensor that locates ripe fruit on the tree, said Chang, who is interested in becoming a veterinarian. "It's supposed to know which fruit to pick," she said.

Bernstein said working on the project made her more interested in science. She said she wants to become an inventor or work for NASA.

Each of the students received a DVD player and a framed certificate from Toshiba and the National Science Teachers Association. Local Toshiba representative and president of Hawai'i Business Equipment Inc., Renee Gomes, was on hand at yesterday's presentation to congratulate the winners.

"To be picked from 4,503 entries is a big honor," Gomes said.

The students now get busy on the final portion of the competition — creating a working Web site to display their idea. Eight finalists from the 24 regional winners will be selected in May based on their Web sites.

Students on the four first-place teams will receive a $10,000 U.S. savings bond. Students on the four second-place teams will receive a $5,000 U.S. savings bond. All eight teams, along with their teachers and families, will be invited to the ExploraVision Gala Awards in Washington, D.C., in June to receive the award.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.