The CCHS Robotics team is having fun while learning meaningful skills. Left: Some of the Robotics team (L-R) Anna Carman, Jacob Carr, Carrie Palmer, Bergen Soland, Andy Kern, Isak Terrill, Haylie Anderson, Caleb Phillips, Nate Carlson, Noah Works.
With 14 students in grades 9-12 out for the Cook County High School Robotics team, the state’s fastest growing “sport” is flourishing at CCHS.
“This is one of the largest teams we’ve ever had,” said Nate Carlson, one of the team’s three senior captains. The other two captains are Jacob Carr and Brandon Bockovich.
Halfway through the building process, the team is now waiting for parts, which is frustrating but something that is to be expected, Carlson said.
While Robotics isn’t a school-sponsored activity at CCHS, the school provides a lot of support, making the shop available for after school practice and Industrial Education Teacher, Peter Johnson, is one of the main mentors.
“We do get some Perkins grant money through the school, but mainly our funds come from private fundraisers and corporate sponsorships,” Carlson said.
Besides Johnson, other mentors include Rod Carlson (Nate’s dad).
“This is really focused on being a student driven organization,” Carlson said, which explains why Carlson set up and conducted the interview.
Carlson said there is a “six week build season,” during which teams take kits and build a robot assigned to do a certain task. This year’s robot must stack boxes.
Not a stretch when you consider that nationwide Federal Express is sponsoring the competition.
“Locally our biggest sponsor is Arrowhead Electric, but we also get a lot of support from the business community, parents and community members,” Carlson said.
Carlson said the team gets about half of the parts it needs to build a robot in the kit. The rest they either make or purchase. “But because of where we live it can be difficult to purchase parts and get them here on time, so we end up making a lot of parts with the 3-D printer or machining them ourselves.”
Teams cannot spend over $4,000 to build a robot. Robots can only be modified at competitions and only 30 pounds of new parts can be added at competitions. “All robots have a size and weight restraint,” noted Carlson. “And all motors have to be pneumatic [air]. They don’t allow hydraulic motors in the competitions.”
This year the theme is “Recycle Rush” and the goal is to see how many shipping crates your ’bot can stack in two minutes 15 seconds.
Last year CCHS participated in at least 15 competitions in the three-day tournament held at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC).
While the kits are all the same, Carlson said no two robots—like snowflakes— are the same. “My goodness they all look very different from each other,” he added.
Last year’s CCHS team placed 22 out of 200 teams, only two spots from going to the finals.
At the 2014 state competition 30 teams competed for the state championship, with two parts to the contest. In the first, teams played a game called Aerial Assist in which two competing alliances of three teams attempted to launch and catch and score with the exercise balls as many times as possible in a two minute and 15 second match using remotely controlled robots they designed and built.
That state championship contest was played in “the barn” at the University of Minnesota. The goal was to get the ball through two large rectangular goals that were placed at each end of the field almost 7 feet high. The challenge included a truss that was about 5 feet tall that spanned the center of the field over which the robots attempted to launch balls.
Points were scored for making goals, for launching balls over the truss, for balls caught by the alliance robot after being thrown over the truss and for robot advancement through the three zones of the field.
Aerial Assist that was designed and managed by FIRST—For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, and was played nationwide in similar contests.
Once again FIRST is the designer of this year’s game, which is played nationwide, Carlson said.
When it comes to competitions and getting paired with teams, Carlson said, “Sometimes you are paired with strong teams, sometimes you end up paired with weak teams, but it all works out at the end of the competition.”
While each of this year’s team captains has a strength—Bockovich is best at building the robot; Carlson is best at programming, and Carr wires the robot—each of the other kids learns to do a little bit of everything.
“It’s important that they grow their skills. They are gong to be taking over the program next year,” Carlson said.
Some of the things participants learn include welding, reading blueprints, reading schematics, programming and running a 3-D printer, milling machine parts, cutting and shaping metal, working with a lathe and cutting plastic.
Learning to work together as a team is also a crucial part of competition, said Carlson.
The team will be competing at the DECC again from February 25-28. Should they place in the top 20, they will move on to regionals. From there it is on to nationals.
Participating for CCHS are David Blackburn, Morgan Weyrens-Welch, Isak Terrill, Carrie Palmer, Jacob Carr, Brandon Bockovich, Shae Morawitz, Noah Works, Haylie Anderson, Sara Carman, Greg Howe, Bergen Soland, Caleb Philips and Carlson.
Someday one of the kids from CCHS might invent a real R2D2, or improve on Optimus Prime. But for now they are building real world skills, teamwork, and friendships that should last a lifetime.
“More kids participate in Robotics than any other sport in Minnesota, said Nate. “It is now the biggest sport in the state, surpassing basketball and football.”
Robotic fun facts
. How fast has Robotics grown? In 2006 there were only two teams; 16 in 2007; 54 in 2008; 81 in 2009; 105 in 2010; 131 in 2011; 153 in 2012; 180 in 2013; and 2007 in 2014.
. Edina has the oldest program in the state at 9 years. A high school junior who built a robot in his dad’s kitchen started it. Currently eighty percent of Edina’s robotics team graduates pursue higher education in either engineering or science.
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