Students Dig in to FIRST Robotics Race With Next-Gen Builds

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BROOKLYN, N.Y. — This was not your average shop class. For one, it elicited an extreme level of dedication. The dozen or so students clustered in a room at George Westinghouse High School had been here every night for weeks—and most weekends—until 10:30 p.m. Then there’s the little matter of what they were building: not exactly bird feeders. On the concrete floor sat a half-assembled robot, a yellow metal frame supporting a battery, motors and a tangle of wires.

The team’s sole programmer, 16-year-old junior Jason Lewis, led us past a workbench with a circular saw and drill press and then under the Jolly Roger flag hanging from the center of the room. We were in the headquarters of the Pirates, one of hundreds of high school teams across the nation in the midst of a six-week crunch period for the FIRST Robotics Competition. “We’re a little behind,” said Lewis, a pair of plastic safety goggles pushed back on his head. “But we’ll pull it off.”

Every year teams have a different set of obstacles to maneuver with their robots, which they build mostly from a standard kit of parts. This year’s challenge is to navigate around a track, scoring points by moving 40-in.-dia. balls either under or over a bridge. If they do well at regional showdowns, the teams get to compete for national glory at a championship in Atlanta next month. As fans of anything that culminates in a botfest, Popular Mechanics editors decided to pop in on a couple of New York City teams to check out their progress. (Watch them build away with hands-on video here, then read on below.)



As of Feb. 12, both teams’ bots had a ways to go. Students at the Frederick Douglas Academy in Harlem were elbow-deep in a robot that they hoped would shoot balls over the bridge. The Pirates, meanwhile, had outfitted their robot’s chassis with electrical components, but had to go back to the drawing board for the aluminum arm. They realized that their Plan A—arms that closed around the 7-pound ball to lift it—had crumpled under pressure.

Plan B: “We’re trying to make a forklift to push the ball over the bridge, which is worth an additional six points,” says George Westinghouse team captain Ovell Taylor, a senior. Taylor, who hopes to major in mechanical engineering and one day make prosthetic arms, lights up when talking strategy. “Even though this game is about speed, the scoring factor is about points,” he says. “If we go for the big points, chances are we’ve got the game on lock.”

The Lady Pirates, George Westinghouse’s first all-female team, had decided to “herd” the ball, or push it across the finish line, instead. Senior and team captain Nelly Reyes built a PVC claw for their robot; her silver hoop earrings swung with the effort of showing us how it would grasp the ball. I asked how she ended up on the team. “Building a robot just sounded cool,” she confessed. “I didn’t even know how to use a drill before. Now I like using tools.”

In contrast, Jeremy Joseph, a towering junior in a waffle-knit “Death Rock” shirt, thought robot builders were “guys with glasses, suspenders and high-water pants. I kind of got tricked into it,” he says. “But then I realized it was fun.” Also, he told me, robotics helped him find his talent: sales. Last year, he sold $4000 worth of M&Ms and almond chocolate bars so that the team could travel to the championship event.

Computer savviness is also a valuable team attribute, and one that can win one of several other FIRST award categories. Elsewhere in the room, two students sat hunched over computers, exposed to the sound of the circular saw but somewhat protected from aluminum filings. Junior Jeremiah Pegues worked on the team’s Web site, while senior Randy Friday built a 3D model of the robot on AutoDesk Inventor.

Outside the school it was dark, and snow was falling softly. Other classroom lights turned off one-by-one, like an urban homage to the Waltons. This competition must be really fun for you to stay here so late, I commented. Jason’s eyes widened, and he paused a second before responding: “I don’t even know how to explain it … You think you know a lot sometimes, but then you go to the competitions and it’s amazing. You see how much all these other teams know.” Which, in high-school speak, means it’s not time to say good night quite yet.

3. RE: Students Dig in to FIRST Robotics Race With Next-Gen Builds
I wish my school Had robotics Team. Or even a metal shop. Consider your self lucky to even be able to decide if you wanted to be on the team.

2. RE: Students Dig in to FIRST Robotics Race With Next-Gen Builds
Website: www.thecatattack.org
I'm on team 451 (the Cat Attack) this year (as well as last year). This is a great event and I believe all high-school students should get a chance to participate in the F.I.R.S.T. robotics league.

1. RE: Students Dig in to FIRST Robotics Race With Next-Gen Builds
cool. i think i should take robotics next year

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