The Robotics Club placed 20th out of 25 teams at the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) competition the group attended at the Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill, Jan. 31. This event was the team’s first competition.
The team was unable to make their robot, affectionately named Rovo, move until the morning of the competition.
“We were very nervous about it when we got there, but a lot of that stress got alleviated once we got it moving,” sophomore James Cahoon said. “When we got there in the morning, our robot was in no condition to compete. Luckily, before inspection, we were able to get it running along with some help from other teams.”
Because all the robots at the competition were programmed similarly, the other teams were able to help Rovo function properly.
“What’s fortunate is that everyone [at the competition] uses the same program,” senior Aiden Williams said. “We use two really inexpensive Android phones—one in the robot and one in the controller. The controller is a PS3 controller; it’s really basic.”
Team members were satisfied with the results of the competition.
“We’ve been building this robot for quite some time, and we were shooting our sights low in terms of complexity, success and overall construction, because we are a rookie team with very limited experience,” Williams said. “What we ended up with was basically a bulldozer that could push and move an arm up and down a couple of times… which was a pretty huge success for us… considering that some of the teams in the competition were at one point in time funded by NASA and other huge companies. We’re pretty proud of how well we did.”
FTC’s 2015-2016 competitions are modeled after rescue situations faced by mountain explorers. According to FTC’s official website, robots can score points by pushing around loose objects on the floor, climbing a ramp and parking in certain floor goals. Robots may also score points by retrieving debris from the playing field and placing them in certain floor goals and also by hanging from a pull-up bar during the last 30 seconds of a match.
Junior Graham Cleven discussed the basics of building a robot.
“We sit down, we draft out how we want this thing to behave and what parts we want it to have, we come up with a budget and we assemble the components,” Cleven said. “We use a Java framework, and on top of that, we program the servers and DC motors to respond to input from user controllers. Then, we go to competition and test out our driving skills against other teams.”
Club members frequently work on improving their skills.
“Day to day, we practice driving, strategizing and researching the capability of the other teams,” Cleven said. “We come up with new concepts and components.”
Robotics Club offers a unique environment for students.
“It allows me to do something that I otherwise would not have the resources to learn about firsthand,” junior Zoe Sugiyama said.
Members enjoy participating for a variety of reasons.
“It’s a really fun and very STEM-directed club,” senior Eric Dorshimer said. “You meet a great group of friends, and you have a great time.”
Those involved say the club is a great resource for those interested in the realm of STEM.
“If you’re interested in a STEM field or that kind of track through school, I would definitely recommend it,” Cahoon said.
Robotics Club meets after school on Mondays and Thursdays in Room 413.
– By Becca Heilman