Written by Fadi Haider What does a robotics club look like when you first walk in? To an uninformed person, walking into Design Lab 024 would be like getting flash banged. On the engineering side, parts are littered all over the table. Screws, metal channels, chains, motors, hubs, a plethora of unusual tools, custom parts, and everything in between. On the code side, laptops and projectors show lines upon lines of code, with small parts of the robot connected through a tangle of wires to their laptops for testing. In the back, powerful computers house complicated 3D Models on their screens, and the laser cutter back is buzzing away, cutting objects to the accuracy of the 100th of millimetres. Turn the lights off, make everyone wear lab coats, and you’d be convinced that these teenagers were preparing to take over the world. And in a way, they are. The only things giving it away are the friendly chatter, and lack of sharp blades and flamethrowers on the little jumble of aluminum and wires in the center of the room we lovingly christened ‘chernobyl’. How do schools afford to run a robotics club? Running a robotics team (unfortunately) is not cheap. Parts are only one small piece of a much larger, more complex puzzle that involves funding, budgets, and fees. While the school has donated generous funds, we receive most of our funding from sponsors. One of the biggest sponsors for my school’s design programs is the Friesen Family, along with the CBE’s tax-paid budget. However, the largest part of our budget comes from sponsors that we seek out ourselves. These usually consist of smaller, Calgary or Canada based companies. When we receive funding, most of these companies are interested in promoting STEAM related education, and a robotics club is a passionate group of self-led kids doing just that (not to mention, a charitable act helping kids and a nice tax write-off!) Describe the competitions – how do they work? As some of you may have inferred, the purpose of building a bot is to compete. Me and my team compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge. FIRST is an international organization which promotes robotics. The Tech Challenge (FTC) is an international league for smaller robots. The size requirements are 18 inches cubed, so we must be intentional with our space distribution. First also has the First Robotics Challenge (FRC). This league has much larger robots, and is more involved, requiring the use of hydraulics, large batteries, and powerful motors. It generally costs more than FTC, as most of the parts must be fabricated in house and are more powerful. There is also a First Lego League (FLL). This is a league primary for middle school kids, as the parts are small, preprogrammed motors and plastic build pieces. It is a great introduction to the world of robotics, and naturally progresses into more technical and difficult challenges. Over the last year, competitions have been primarily online. COVID-19 disruptions mean that we must compete at our school, using a camera to record our robot, and a program to help us with scoring. However, as these restrictions fade away, we are progressing our way slowly back into a more in-person challenge. Especially with this year’s challenge, where cooperation with other teams is part of competition, being in-person is critical for the full experience. The competition environment is always a huge part of the experience and seeing other team’s designs is always something that a person can appreciate. Everyone is nervous about being there, but even more importantly, at competitions, you meet people who all share a passion for the same thing. It’s a beautiful thing meeting like-minded people who have worked as hard as you have, went through the same struggles, and are working to the same goal as you. It’s rare to find, especially in a school environment where everyone is discovering who they want to be. Robotics competitions behave in an indifferent fashion to sports tournaments. Teams have a bit of time to practice, prepare, and make final adjustments to their robot in the morning. Then, the challenge takes place. In the FTC, the scores are calculated based on how much a team can accomplish in a given time. This includes autonomous and TeleOp phases. At any given event, teams score points based on a complicated combination of points and safeties. This is available in Section 5.0 of the Game Manual. After all the teams compete, there is a closing ceremony, and teams that move on to the next round are announced. There are many levels to the competition. The first part of the Calgary stage is happening at Joanne-Cardinal Schubert High School in southern Calgary. These stages progress throughout events in the city, eventually leading to provincials, which take place in Red Deer. After provincials, if a team scores high enough, they may progress to Worlds. The FTC World championship, which occurs in Dallas, Texas every year is the pinnacle of the FTC ladder, the final frontier. The best thing about all these competitions is that it is the same challenge every time. As the season progresses, and as competitions become more and more difficult, the stakes naturally become higher as well. At the end of the day, every team has their own tricks and ideas with the goal of becoming the most efficient, fastest, and powerful team on the field. Does it include chainsaws and flamethrowers? Unfortunately, no. The FIRST leagues are not violent leagues, however, there is still the pushing of other robots that is allowed. For those interested in a real-life Big Hero 6-type of fight to the death, check out The BattleBots YouTube Channel. It’s clear to understand that STEM education is gradually growing. Clubs and Teams like ours are excellent stepping stones to paths in Technology, Design, and Communication. FIRST, as an organization, is an excellent program that aims to expand STEM-based learning, eventually shaping the future of our world.
0 Comments
|
AuthorAWCS Youth Program Zed News YYC reporters Archives
December 2022
Categories |