The creators of “Robot 8828” think their machine can stack up to the world’s best.
Two years ago, teachers and students in the Saratoga Springs City School District formed the Blue Streaks Robotics Club. The club’s members assembled a mess of nuts, bolts, wires and metal into a mechanical device with wheels and a roving arm. It’s called 8828.
In January, the club’s sophomores and juniors took the mobile robot to Onondaga Community College, where they completed a series of assigned tasks in an allotted time to top nearly 40 other teams from throughout the state. The victory at the Northern NY VEX Toss Up State Championship qualified the young squad to compete against 450 teams from around the world later this month in Kentucky.
“We didn’t think we’d do so well at all,” high school junior and club president Paul Harrington said. “It’s been a bit of a surprise for us.”
On Tuesday in Saratoga Springs High School, team members gathered for the final time before the international competition to test 8828 and practice the art of scoring. Points are made by remotely controlling the robot, and making it stack red cubes on posts and move yellow cylinders in a tight space.
The Blue Streaks – 17 students and 10 parents – leave April 14 for the 2015 VEX Robotics World Championship in Louisville, Ky. The state champs recently upgraded 8828 in anticipation of challenging teams from across Asia, Europe, Mexico, Brazil and elsewhere.
“They tried to create the ultimate robot,” said Preston Sweeney, a middle school technology teacher and club advisor. The club is geared to students that are considering a future in engineering, he said. “They love solving problems,” Sweeney said.
As word spread about the robotics club, student interest grew. The club now consists of three teams – two teams of freshmen and the one with sophomores and juniors.
Lauren Blake, 14, joined the club this year as a freshmen. “I thought it would be a cool experience, and it hasn’t disappointed,” Blake said. She will assist Derek Bruce, 14, with scouting and grading other teams at the upcoming world tournament.
While Harrington led construction of 8828, it’s junior Lucas Beitzel, 16, that drives it at tournaments. The job is important because the driver controls the robot’s movements and are responsible for scoring. “Lucas has the touch,” Harrington said.
Each year, VEX Robotics issues a different challenge. This year’s points system involves stacking plastic cubes and cylinders. Saratoga’s older team has a six-person roster: Harrington, Beitzell, Mitchell Gerhardt, Derek Raushi, Elizabeth Palmer and Stephen Furstoss.
One disadvantage of the club’s near-instant success is that it didn’t expect to attend a world competition, and therefore didn’t anticipate raising the approximately $15,000 needed to rent a bus, register for the competition and stay in hotel rooms. The team is raising money through fundraisers and on online here.
“I’m really, really excited,” Harrington said. “Not only do we get to miss a week of school for it, we get to meet students from throughout the world.”