GL Robotics Club First Tech Challenge
Submitted by Niamh Grano, BHPS
While the GL Robotics Club saw many senior members graduate last year, and the team felt they were less experienced than other clubs in the area as a result, that was truly not the case as they made it to the semi-finals of the FIRST Tech Challenge, presented by Raytheon Technologies.
This competition challenges teams to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete against each other. Every year the theme of the challenge changes. This year it was Freight Frenzy – a race against time to transport essential goods and explore the future of transportation.
The GL Robotics Club, which has about 15 members, began meeting in September to discuss the theme of the challenge. Each student brings their own set of skills from their academic and technical education classes such as electronics, woodworking, fine metal working, and robotics.
“Working together, they were able to create something real,” said Michael Maresca, Technology Education Department at GL.
It took the club approximately two months to design, build, and program the robot for the competition. Once they tested the robot and felt it was ready, the team then brought it to four qualifying competitions.
“It was at the qualifiers that the team was exposed to many other schools and saw how their robots were programmed. They were always thinking of ways they could improve,” said Maresca. “It was truly an evolution from what the robot was at the beginning of the year to what it is today.”
Not only did the GL Robotics Club make it to the semi-finals, but they also received the Control Award. This award represents the team’s ability to program the robot to evaluate and react to its environment which is the foundation for which the robot is built on.
