On April 17, the engineering team competed at the National Robotics Challenge in Marion, Ohio. Three teams, two being rescue robot teams and the other a combat team, traveled to the Marion County Veterans Memorial Coliseum to show the competition what they had learned throughout the year.
With many ups and downs during the competition, the teams learned that success is earned through problem-solving and adapting to any issues in their path.
Nathan Hofferberth says, ¨The bot was overweight, so a lot of shaving down had to happen. We didn’t want to lose any major components, so we had to think quickly about what was most important,” said Nathan Hofferberth.
Working up to the competition, the engineering team meets every day at school, where they have a class period dedicated to their robots. Their weekly schedule has a routine to make their efficiency better and to make sure they test their robots often.
Monday is a coding day, where they will code and program their robots. Tuesday and Wednesday, they learn the science behind the robots to better their understanding and how and why robots work in certain ways. Thursday and Friday are mostly spent in the lab room, either battling other classmates’ robots or preparing for upcoming events.
These students are also working with Carnegie Mellon University, and in return, they will receive a certificate for completing the engineering program.
The three teams vary in age and have teammates ranging from freshmen to seniors. The first rescue robot team consists of freshman Carter Huddleston, sophomore Gavin Ziener, and seniors Colton Stagg and Nick Warfel.
The second rescue team includes sophomores Jason Thomas and Nathan Hofferberth, along with senior Boyd Everhart. The combat teams incorporate students from the rescue teams, consisting of Gavin Ziener, Colton Stagg, Carter Huddleston, and Jason Thomas.
Sophomore Jason Thomas states, ¨I like the free for all, being able to design it himself instead of from a premade kit, I now have a better understanding of different kinds of robots and have a better work ethic from this program.¨
Students were asked about what they enjoy most about the program and what they have learned in their years of being a part of the team. Sophomore Gavin Ziener says, ¨I really like being able to assemble things with metal and being able to design different things, I have learned to think practically and now have a better understanding that building takes time and a lot of practice¨.
This team has been working towards its final destination, the National Robotics Challenge. This challenge highlighted finding your materials and figuring out what’s best for your robot, instead of having a specific kit to use. The challenge consisted of over 500 teams with a winners and losers bracket for both rescue and combat. Both rescue teams ended up winning one round in each of the winners’ and losers’ brackets. The combat team lost in the winners bracket but turned it around and won three rounds in the losers bracket. With this robotics challenge being their first competition, the team had many wins and also learned what they needed to improve for next time.
Carter Huddleston added, ¨Our team was not consistent in note booking and time management, so some of our losses were due to these inconsistencies¨. The three teams had to adapt to any problems that were in their way, and they learned how to make do with what they had as a united team.
