How easy is it to navigate on the surface of the moon? The 34 students and 15 mentors of Clarkston High Robotics Team RUSH will soon find out.
This year’s FIRST Robotics challenge, called ‘Lunacy,? is played on a 54-by-24-foot, low-friction field called ‘the crater,? simulating moon’s one-sixth gravity.
‘It’s going to be a lot more difficult this year to drive on the playing field because last year and the years before that, we were used to driving on carpeting and we had a lot more traction then,? said Eric Barch. “Now it’s a little more difficult because it’s basically ice.”
Players, human and robotic, score points by tossing balls into baskets attached to opposing robots.
‘It’s a cool game, low friction and crazy balls,? said Senior Bobby Pizzey. ‘I’m just excited.?
To build the robot, the team was broken into Chasis, Above Chasis, and Mechanics groups and subgroups.
‘The 12 volt group that usually wires the robot, along with programmers and enhanced electronics group, were all put together to form to the control group,? said Devon Rehm. ‘They are doing programming, all the sensors as well as working on the hardware.?
‘There are a lot of new changes this year, so I am kind of anxious of how all of that’s going to turn out,? said Josh Fox. ‘From the new control system, to the new competition structure and the low friction wheels we have to deal with.?
Jan Helgeson, who is a part of the programming team, said there will be a camera placed on top of the robot, which will be able to read colors.
‘That’s how we’re going to track the trailers, based on the color,? he said. ‘What it (the camera) looks for is which color is on top. Based upon which color is on top, we know whether it’s our alliance or the opponent’s alliance.?
They are using computer software called National Instruments LabVIEW.
‘It’s used by lots of major industries and businesses,? said Helgeson. ‘It’s used for data acquisition and to control robotics. It’s also graphical programming software.?
When it comes to building the robot, students use a lot of algebra, physics and trigonometry. Troy Hughes said it was a mix of learning and having fun.
‘I don’t want to say it’s trial and error learning, but in a way it kind of is because you try thing that you find out don’t work and you learn how to do what you did better and make it so it will work every time,? he said.
‘Then when it comes to the real world and you want to become an engineer, you have those prior experiences knowing ‘if I do this, this is going to happen and that’s not good, that’s not what I want.??
Not only does the robotics program offer students hands-on experience, it also gives them a chance to talk with mentors who have jobs in computers and engineering.
‘We have very high expectation in our kids. I think with their performance on the robot field and the performance of our kids on our awards presentation stuff. I think we’re going to do pretty well this year,? said Dennis Hughes, mentor. ‘I can’t stress enough how blessed we are to have the group of kids that we have. They’re really top of their game right now, I think, in all aspects.?
Teacher and mentor Kyle Hughes said some students are also participating in other FIRST competitions, including website and 3D studio Max animation, and a student designs the team’s newsletters each week.
Hughes said it’s “very cool” to hear the kids excited to talk about math, science and technology.
‘I want to see enough people from Clarkston coming to a competition to see the Clarkston High Robotics team, like they pack the stands for a basketball game,” she said. “I’d love at Kettering or down in Ypsilanti if we make it to state, a bus load of kids coming down to cheer on these kids because they certainly have worked hard enough. They have put in over 5,000 hours into this project.?
The first competition will be at Kettering University in Flint on March 6-7. For more information, visit www.teamrush27.net or e-mail Kyle Hughes at hugheskh1@clarkston.k12.mi.us.