By Donald Acker
After six weeks of work, Earl, a 130-pound robot built by CCHS students, is finally ready.
Although not a formally sanctioned club, the robotics team has around 15 active members. They built Earl for the US FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competition, which will be held March 27-29 in the Gwinnett County Civic Center.
The project is funded by a $6000 grant from NASA. Dr. Wayne, a Georgia Tech robotics professor, helped the team obtain the funding.
For a $5000 entry fee, US FIRST sends motors, electronics, radio equipment, and other specialized parts needed to build a robot. The NASA grant provides $1000 for additional equipment.
In the contest, two pairs of robots each attempt to move large boxes to their side of the field.
Points are awarded based on the number of boxes collected, as well as the height of the highest stack. Trying to damage opposing robots is discouraged. “They’re really big on safety and teamwork,” said freshman William Dance. “This is not ‘Robo-Wars.’”
Nine hundred schools compete nationwide. The top three teams from the Atlanta competition will advance to the national contest in Houston.
“This competition is more than just a robot,” said Bardagjy. “There’s really something for everyone.” Awards are also given for the best team web pages and computer animations of robots. In addition, there is an emphasis on public relations, in hopes of soliciting corporate contributions.
Earl is equipped with a forklift to stack boxes and two arms to push them into the scoring area. Freshman Kevin Gautier drives him while Dance operates the lift and arms.
For the first 15 seconds of each match, the robot must run without human control. Freshman James Rickertson programmed Earl, who uses light sensors to move toward the boxes.
The day before they shipped Earl to the judges, the team worked on him at school until 11 p.m., when a custodian asked them to leave.
Technology teacher Tim Beck sponsors the club. He is mainly responsible for keeping the team safe while working on the robot. “What’s unique about [the robot] is that the students designed it 100 percent and built it 100 percent without any kind of mentor.”
Next year, Beck is offering a pre-engineering class with an emphasis on robot construction. The first six weeks of second semester will be spent building a new robot to send to the competition. The class will be open to all juniors and seniors, as well as any especially qualified underclassmen.
This is the first year CCHS students have entered a robot. “No rookie teams have historically done well in this competition,” said Rickertson. “But we’re gonna be the first,” added Dance.