High School Robotics Team Builds to Meet Competition Challenge

Chris Mathews and Dan Politte looked intently at the makeshift scoring grid surrounding a double door exit at .

The grid, composed of  PVC pipe and wood, held three rubber inner tubes in red, white and blue. Together, the inner tubes formed a circle, a square, and a triangle --  representing the logo of For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST).

Constructing the grid was not too tricky for human hands to complete. Getting a robot to do the job via a computer and joy stick was a different matter.  

“This is not a trivial challenge,” said Dave Sarber, the University City High School Robotics Team coach.

Sarber's young engineering group includes students in grades eight through 12. The young engineers use their electronic, programming, and woodworking skills to construct a robot that will compete in the FIRST Robotics Competiton at Saint Louis University on March 18 and 19. More than 2,000 teams worldwide compete in the event. The challenge:  to construct a robot to perform specific task. The students learned of the objective for this year’s competition in early January. They have six weeks to meet that objective. This is the team's second year in competition.

Matthews, Politte and their teammates must build a robot that will grab parts, race down a field and place the three rubber inner tubes onto wooden pegs that reach as high as 108 inches to form the FIRST logo.

They will pool their talents and skills in computer programming, woodworking, electronics and mechanics to meet the challenge.

SHOP TALK 

Adorned in protective eyewear and casual attire, the team spends around 25 hours a week staring feverishly at computer screens, writing new codes, adjusting sensors, and sawing PVC pipe to prepare for the upcoming contest.

Many high school students balance classwork and homework with after-school activities like surfing Facebook, watching television, and playing video games. Walter Deitzler, an 8th grader at Brittany Woods Middle School, spends his spare time on robotics.

“I just love doing robotics,” Deitzler said. “I like fiddling with the robot, and I like watching it drive. It's just a great program.”

For the robotics team, conversations in the lab and the computer room revolve around fixing and tweeking obstacles that stand in the way of making the robot respond exactly how the students want. Team members use jargon like "debug the code," "sensor values," and "prototyping," incomprehensible to the average adult, let alone their fellow teens.

COMPLEX CONCEPTS

During one recent session, as Boeing engineer and mentor Rowland Dodson explained the best way to keep the robot’s arm from twisting during a task, it became clear the students were learning complex principles related to engineering concepts. 

Some of the members of the robotics team came into the club with experience in programing and computer hardware. Others are learning through practice and instruction, Sarber said.

Politte, a sophomore, said he joined the team because he wanted to program the robot. He came into the program with prior programming knowledge, knowledge he's already applied to the robot project. 

“Sometimes it feels frustrating when things aren't working the way I want them to, but it always feels good when they start working and good when we are competing and it all works,” he said.

Tenth-grader Michael Sarber has been competing on robotics teams for two years. He said his contribution is the ability to work with his hands and put things together. 

“When I was younger, I loved working with Legos. I would build all kinds of things,” Sarber said. “This is kind of like bigger Legos.”

The comparison to Legos is apt. Michael Sarber said one doesn’t need welding equipment to put the robot together. Everyday tools like a screwdriver and wrench will do the trick.

During Thursday's practice, Dodson spent time teaching students about the geometry of building the robot's arm, as well as how to put the robot parts together. While Dodson instructed, the students applied the instruction to the tasks at hand.

As a Boeing engineer with 27 years of experience, Dodson said sometimes it can be challenging to convey what needs to be done without doing it for the student.

Dodson said his role as a mentor is to reinforce safety and provide guidance. He volunteers about 10 hours a week  with one objective in mind:

“To see it work,” Dodson said. “See the robot do what the kids want it to do within the confines of the challenge."