LEOMINSTER — Learning to build and compete with an 18-cubic-inch robot made of brushed metal and plastic levers does more than teach one middle school robotics team the fundamentals of engineering.

It also provides a timely lesson in international diplomacy.

That’s because Leominster Youth Robotics 549C Robo Mayhem Team is, for the second consecutive year, headed to Louisville, Kentucky, for a world championship robotics tournament sponsored by VEX Robotics.

One rule of play requires teams form game-time alliances with international competitors, which means that finding a way to bridge the inevitable language gap could make all the difference from a soaring win or a bitter defeat.

“It’s very difficult to communicate sometimes,” said eighth-grade student Charlotte Weldon, who during each two-minute match coaches the team’s joystick-holding “driver” as he or she maneuvers the robot to score points. “We can be paired with teams from around the world, so communicating strategy without actually knowing how to speak the other team’s language can be hard.”

The theme of this year’s tournament is “Starstruck.” The group of six Leominster teens built their ‘bot with the same metal, rubber and plastic materials given to each of their approximately 1,400 fellow competitors.

The challenge? To create a robot capable of launching and nudging large foam jacks a over a 2-foot barrier, all while working in tandem with teams from Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Last year, championship competitors hailed from places including Shanghai, London and, in the case of one team of young refugees, Syria.

“You have to be able to adapt and work with other people,” said Charlotte’s mother and team mentor Dawn Weldon of Leominster.

Thanks in part to the communication skills of Charlotte and her eighth-grade friend and teammate Maggie Cunningham, who excel as game-time advisers tasked with relaying tactical information to the “driver” while coordinating strategy with allied teams, Robo Mayhem is on a winning streak.

The team in January won its world championship qualifying match after spending months developing its robot, which members equipped with a system of gears and tracks that allow it to maneuver in all directions.

Robo Mayhem spent the next month or so tweaking the robot’s hardware and software. In late February, the team won a first-place title at the Southern New England Middle School Championship.

“I was expecting to do good, but not that good,” said robot “driver” Sam Bartow, an eighth-grade student at Samoset Middle School.

Bartow tinkered with a thicket of black and red wiring while fellow engineer and classmate Andrew “AJ” Filieo explained how the path to victory requires hard work and the ability to learn from past mistakes.

“Some days can be a little hard,” Bartow said. “But it’s awesome to see what you can do with some metal and plastic and some rubber bands.”

Robo Mayhem needs to raise $12,000 for materials and transportation to Kentucky for team members and chaperones before the April 19 championship begins, Weldon said.

Those who wish to donate to Robo Mayhem can go to https://www.gofundme.com/RoboMayhem549c or send an email to RoboMayhem549c@gmail.com to sign up for the group’s annual Lego Camp summer camp.