High schoolers have six weeks to build robot that can shoot baskets
By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
About 100 Hillsborough High students, most wearing red team T-shirts, gathered Saturday morning in a warehouse on Route 206 to hear their robotics challenge for 2012.
Members of RoboRaidersTeam 75 tuned into a live NASA broadcast seen around the world to learn about — and then download — detailed instructions on the project that will consume much of their life in the next six weeks.
They were tasked to build a 60-inch tall robot that can move across a basketball court and throw a foam ball into hoops at three different heights.
At the same time, the robot must be concerned about how to block two opponents’ robots from doing the same thing, without incurring penalty fouls. (“High-speed accidental collisions are part of the game and are expected,” say the rules.)
There are complicating and challenging wrinkles, too. The initial part of the game will use a Kinect gamebox to sense a human’s body motion to direct the robot to move on its own. And the robot will have to cross a teeter-totter bridge during the game to score more points. Two robots on the bridge will bring even more points.
In a few weeks, once it is built, the robot will be shrink-wrapped and held in anticipation of the regional FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) competition on Feb. 21.
The RoboRaiders had gotten hints about the challenge, called “Rebound Rumble,” when it earlier learned of the materials they would need to build.
On Saturday they endured video pep talks from people as diverse as three former presidents to music artist will.i.am, explanations from computer designer Woodie Flower and a message from FIRST founder Dean Kamen on why their work to advance technology is important to them and the world.
There was even a sales pitch on the need to sell light bulbs to finance the project.
Finally, as the disembodied voice ramped up to the announcement of the game with “Here we go!” there was murmuring and excitement.
In the dark during the videos, one engrossed boy sat scribbling in a notebook in the second row. His eagerness caught the attention of Board of Education member Thuy Anh Le.
”It struck me that this is what we should be aiming at,” said Ms. Le of the education value of the activity.
School Superintendent Jorden Schiff told the students, parents and mentors that the school board was committed to move math, science and technology into the curriculum in the next five years in much the same manner as Team 75’s activity.
Team 75 has roles for students will all interests, not just engineering and technology. In different phases of competition, they will have to devise and film an explanatory video of their project and team activities. They must prepare public presentations. The RoboRaiders are a leader in another category, too — organizing community project to build and give bicycles to underprivileged children.
In generous warehouse space — twice that of last year — donated by Summit Associates at 216 Route 206, there is space to build the robot and test it on the 27-by-54 court on which the game is played.
There are front rooms for the animation, public relations and website teams. Design has its own space, as does the strategy team. Mechanical, programming and electrical teams have their domains on the warehouse floor space.
After lunch of 40 pizzas donated by primary sponsor J & J, the whole team came together in the late afternoon to talk strategy, tasks and schedule.
President Lauren Rothmann urged the team to “start thinking, talking and working together to make it happen.”
”There are no if’s on this team,” encouraged chief “coach” Khiro Sanchez, who works information technology for Johnson and Johnson.