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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Machine Heads: Broadway Highschool's robotronics team prepares for regional competition at NASA Ames.
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Robokids practice tech skills in NASA-sponsored competition Two WG high schools send teams to the robotics contest
By Jessica Lyons
Seventeen-year-old Jamie Robles stares straight ahead, deep in concentration, as he moves the hand-held remote controlling "Blitz," a robot. It takes a few tries, but eventually Blitz's metal clamps fasten around a pole attached to an oversized disk in the center of the ring, and the robot's basket extends eight feet in the air. Robles relaxes a little, but this is just the practice round. Later, he will have to do this all over again as Blitz--and the seven Broadway High School students who built him--battles other robots, built by students at Willow Glen High School and from all over the western United States.
"It's a lot more nerve-wracking than practicing at school," Robles admits. "Here, everyone is yelling at you. But we did all right."
Robles' team, the Bay Bombers, and the Willow Glen Rams are two of 27 student teams from California, Arizona, Colorado and Texas participating in the regional FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, Feb. 25 to 27, at NASA Ames in Sunnyvale. Teams range from seven to 30 students. With seven and eight students, respectively, both Broadway's and Willow Glen's teams are on the smaller side. But despite their size, after the first round of matches on Friday, Broadway was in first place. Willow Glen was in fourth.
"It's only friendly competition," says Willow Glen senior Loan Anh Nguyen, 18. But Broadway sophomore Rosamaria Ramirez doesn't hold back her competitive zeal. "It's wonderful beating Willow Glen," the 15-year-old says. "We're the continuation school, we're supposedly the loser team, and we're in first place."
The Broadway team will also be competing in the national robot games in April at Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center in Orlando, Fla.
"In the next 20 years, NASA will be engaging in new exploration of our star systems with robots," says Mark Leon, technologies project manager for NASA and manager of the competition at Ames. "We want to inspire young people-- they're the next cycle. We need new blood to solve these missions."
A nonprofit group, FIRST organizes the annual games. Each year, the group develops the competition by supplying a mission for the robots and a kit of parts to teams of students. This year, the robots' goal is to first catch "floppies"--large, shiny, pillows--that the students throw. Then, carrying the floppies, the robots must latch onto a metal pole attached to a large disk. For extra points, the robots can pull the disk across the ring and lift themselves up onto the disk.
"If you look at most of the robots, any of them could win," says Broadway sophomore Isaac Fimbrez, 15. "It's all about strategy."
In a practice round on Thursday, Blitz's silver flaps open and Fimbrez throws four red floppies into the basket. Robles' teammate Teddy Herrera, a 16-year-old Broadway junior, steers Blitz over to the disk. But this time, after Blitz latches onto the pole, one of its support arms breaks. It can't lift the basket for extra points. After their two minutes in the ring are up, the team heads back to their corner in Ames' Hangar 1 to repair their robot before the real competition.
"You kind of expect more," says Broadway sophomore Sarah Thornhill, 17. "Blitz did what it was supposed to do--except break. I just don't want to go out there tomorrow and have something crucial break in our first match."
Blitz's arms worked fine during Friday's competition. Broadway averaged 261 points per match. And Willow Glen's "Rambo," a red robot with evil eyes and black horns, made a surprise comeback, recovering from two huge losses to win the third match with 216.
"It feels good," says 15-year-old Willow Glen sophomore David Hansen about the win. "We only had 20 points in the first match, and six in the second. Now we're in fourth place."
The Bay Bombers and the Rams have been gearing up for the robotics competition since September. Although both teams are sponsored by NASA Ames Research Center, the students still had to raise approximately $6,000 to cover travel expenses and extra parts for the robot. NASA paid the registration and robot fees.
"I have been so inspired by how hard these kids worked," NASA's Leon says. "I've never been more impressed in my life."
The deadline to complete the robots was 5 p.m. Monday, February 22. Each team had six weeks to design and build the remote-control robot.
"It's really fun," Willow Glen's Hansen says. "I would encourage other kids to get involved next year. You learn a lot about mechanics and electronics. I have always wanted to be a computer engineer and this has definitely helped."
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
