Catherine Burges, Technology Editor
@cburges_courant
In 2019, the NCHS Robotics Team assembled in Kentucky for the World Finals of VEX Robotics for the second year in a row, competing against the top 7% of high school-designed robots including 900 teams representing over 20 countries. While they didn’t make it to Worlds this year, the team is proud of their accomplishments and excited for what the next year will bring.
Each year there is a challenge or “task” for the robot to complete in the competition. The challenge this year was stacking, meaning these students had to create a robot that could efficiently and effectively stack as many things as possible. The teams spend weeks crawling out models that could fit this description. The average club meeting lasts for three hours. “We have people who will stay much later after the set ending time of 3:45 just to keep developing the robot,” said junior club member Mark Levin.
Mark says that patience is an important skill to have when making a robot. “The process can be really difficult sometimes, and you really have to be patient and work together in order to reach the end goal,” he said.
Senior Captain Katelyn McCall recalled her first experience in the Robotics Club. She has been interested since 5th grade, and took the Robotics elective in order to deepen her understanding of technology and the mechanics that go into building a robot. “To build a robot, you have to know the basics,” she said. “However, anyone can join the club no matter their experience. When you join you will start to pick things up until they are almost natural.”
Katelyn said that her experience at Worlds in 2019 was an important moment in her life. “It was definitely very hectic, as there were so many teams from so many different parts of the World. The language barrier definitely provided another challenging aspect,” she said. “However it was truly a wow moment when we got there, and I realized that all of that hard work and teamwork had paid off. Even this year, although we didn’t get to Worlds, I still am proud of how far we’ve come together.”
Mark said that the process is something that requires a lot of teamwork. “The more people we have the more ideas we can generate,” he said. “I feel that although we didn’t go to Worlds, we still accomplished so much in creating a robot that can stack, a process which is extremely difficult.”
The Robotics Club advisor James Zambarano spoke highly of the club members and their work this year. “I have always seen a high level of work ethic, passion, teamwork and communication with this group,” he said. “Any design can always be improved upon, and even when faced with the hardest of challenges they always seem to pull through with skills and motivation. For me, it has been a cool experience just to watch them grow this year and I am looking forward to the next challenges that will come.”
Mark recommends that everyone should join the club, or at least get a taste of what working with robots is like. “Robots are the future,” he said. “Having experience in the field of robotics is definitely something that will impact your life.”
