Our WLMS Wired Warriors Robotics Team competed at the Goodrich Tournament on Saturday, December 7th at Goodrich High School. Our team was competing for a spot in the state tournament. While the team didn't quite make it to states this year, they did a phenomenal job. They were awarded the Control Award for mastering robot intelligence.
According to the FIRST Tech Challenge game manual, the Control Award celebrates a team that uses sensors and software to increase the robot’s functionality in the field. This award is given to the team that demonstrates innovative thinking to solve game challenges such as autonomous operation, improving mechanical systems with intelligent control, or using sensors to achieve better results. The control component should work consistently in the field. The team’s engineering portfolio must contain a summary of the software, sensors, and mechanical control, but would not include copies of the code itself.
Coach Blackburn provided the following details about the tournaments and what is required from the team. "The tournaments are much more than just the robots competing on a field. Part of our work and preparation as a team involves a lot of documentation and building an Engineering Portfolio that is submitted for review and judging at the tournament. The students also put together and do a presentation in front of a panel of judges about the robot and the process of designing, building and programming the robot. The judges then ask the students questions. Then throughout the day, small groups of judges visit the pit area where the students have set up displays that further show the work of the team and kind of market the team. As these groups of judges go through the pit area they meet with teams again and ask more questions to the students. The judges then take all of the info they learn about the teams, from the students, and select teams to win awards based on various criteria. "
Coach Blackburn said, "It is really fun and exciting, as a coach, to see the students throughout the day interacting with the judges, refs, and other teams. To see them explaining the design of their robot, the problems they have faced and have overcome, the lessons they have learned and more. These students are amazing! It is really a very short time that we have to go from finding out what the game/challenge; to designing, building, and testing a robot for competition. Then in addition, creating all of the documentation and marketing... They learn and do so much!"
WLMS is very proud of our Robotics Team, the job they did this season and the way they represent our school. Congratulations Wired Warriors!!!