Traverse City Record-Eagle

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March 6, 2010

Teams turn out for robotics competition

Hundreds of students compete in soccer match with robots

BY SHERI McWHIRTER

Traverse City -- Tate Hanawalt drives a robot.

Hanawalt, 17, of Traverse City, is the remote-control driver for Traverse City Central High School's robotics team, but he ran into a snag during Saturday's competition in his school gymnasium. His team's robot didn't move during a morning match, but it wasn't for his lack of trying.

"The wire that powers our on-board computer came loose. It's small, so it's kind of hard to find, but we found it," he said as his team's pit crew worked to remedy the problem.

Hanawalt and his teammates were among hundreds of Michigan high school students who competed in this weekend's First Robotics district tournament. Teams came from across the state, including a few local teams.

"Our robot has been performing really well. We have a unique design. Our robot has a lift underneath it," said Leslie Blair, 17, of Johannesburg in Otsego County.

Blair is a member of the Johannesburg High School team.

"They are trying to un-jam the lifter because we flipped over trying to hang from the tower," said Morgan Fisher, 15, one of Blair's teammates.

The robot competition involves two alliances of three teams who try to avoid obstacles and net soccer balls into four goals at the field's corners. Teams earn bonus points if their robot hangs above the field from one of two towers during the last seconds of the match.

The Frankfort High School team's robot also performed well, ranking 15th out of nearly 40 teams after two matches on Saturday.

"Our kicker is working great, and we've scored a lot of points," said Jake Jensen, 18, of Frankfort.

"The only problem we've had is pretty small. The rubber bands were too tight," said team captain Caitlin Larson, 14, of Frankfort.

The Traverse City robotics team from the Manufacturing Technology Academy also competed. Team member Keenan Brons-Piche, 17, of Traverse City, wasn't happy with the way one match turned out.

"We didn't do so well. We didn't have a fully charged battery. The robot defending against us moved laterally really quickly and must have had a fully charged battery," he said.

Nevertheless, the robot project and competition is worth it, Brons-Piche said.

"You actually get to build something that's this technologically advanced. There's a lot of thought that goes into it, a lot of planning," he said.

Many of the robotics teams will participate in two weeks at a downstate competition at Grand Valley State University.

Visit www.usfirst.org or www.firstinmichigan.org for more information about the nationwide robotics competition program.

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