By Isabelle Chiu
Staff Writer
For many people, robots are a technology of the future, only seen in science fiction books and movies. But for the Beach Cities Robotics team, robots are a reality.
The BCR team prepares for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) robotics competitions during robot season, which begins in January and lasts for 15 weeks. The team is composed of approximately 50 Mira Costa and Redondo students total and six professional mentors.
“Students really get a chance to know what it’s like to create something because they are building something that goes out and interacts with the world,” Costa computer science teacher Aaron Braskin said.
During season, the team meets at Redondo Union and practices for 2 hours almost every day after school, along with practicing several hours on the weekend. This season students built robots to score points in”Stronghold,” a castle-themed game where robots go over obstacles and shoot foam balls into a tower with two goals.
“The game varies from year to year and so does the people,” Garrison said. “This year has been a learning experience for everyone since so many people were new and people who had previous experience were super helpful in working with other people to get things done.”
BCR competed at the FIRST robotics competition Los Angeles regionals and Orange County regionals, placing in the top three to qualify for the championships held at the Rams Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri on April 27-30. BCR was a semifinalist in its division at the championships.
“We had a team full of kids who didn’t know each other or hardly anything about robotics, but we managed to not only all learn enough to compete but use that knowledge in order to make it as far as we did,” sophomore member Charlie Fitzgerald said.
The first six weeks of season are spent building the robot and the competitions take place within the next nine weeks. In the first week, students split into three groups, Strategy, Design, and Prototyping. Strategy analyzes the game rules, Design makes many different designs, and Prototyping physically tests the designs made. At the end of the first week, a design is chosen.
“If we organize ourselves this way, when we pick a design we will have a idea of what definitely doesn’t work and what works well in terms of mechanisms for shooting the ball and vision tracking,” Garrison said.
The team builds two robots every year, one to practice driving and building and one to compete with. After the first week, Design builds the robot model virtually, Prototype tests mechanisms of the chosen design, Mechanical builds the parts for the final robot and Programming integrates the sensors onto the driving screen and programs the robots to work without human control.
“We program and use vision tracking software that aligns the base and calculates the angle and power need to make the shot,” Garrison said. “I think it went well at the competition and we were all glad it worked.”
After the six week building period, the final robot is put into a giant plastic bag and sits on a cart in the lab. The driver and the co-driver practice driving the practice robot and note if further modifications need to be done to the competition robot before the competition.
“It’s a tradition at the end of build season to put a little stuffed rabbit in the bag and tie a balloon that we feel is festive,” Garrison said.
During the offseason, which is from August through December, the team trains for two hours on Sundays. Offseason training allows students to familiarize themselves with the machinery and learn the basics of robotics before season begins. One does not need prior engineering knowledge in order to join the team, just an interest in being on the team, Garrison said. If students wish to join, they must talk to Braskin in room 113.
“I think that through doing robotics, students gain a better appreciation of all the different skills sets needed to build a robot,” Braskin said. “Almost nobody builds a robot by themselves and it’s almost always a team effort.”
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