By Kit Humbarger
Features Editor
Robotics World Championship.
On Apr. 20, the BCR team competed in the finals in Dallas and placed second in the world. The Beach Cities Robotics Team, made up of Mira Costa and Redondo Union students, attended the Aerospace Valley Regional competition from April 3-6. They faced fierce competition from 39 other teams, winning the competition and a bid to the World Championship.
The VEX Robotics World Championship is a robotics tournament in Dallas, Texas, hosting over 3,000 robotics teams from all around the world. Their team hasn’t qualified for this competition since 2019, making this achievement even more special.
In the first week of January the company FIRST Robotics released a unique game with a series of tasks to complete. When the challenge first comes out, Beach Cities Robotics meets up and brainstorms multiple designs for the challenge. “We assess the most important aspects of the game and pick the prototype that’s able to complete the most [tasks],” said junior Vivian Snyder.
According to junior Joey Bennett, this year, the robot “needed to be able to quickly pick up foam rings and shoot them from a variety of angles. It was also limited in size and weight, so we needed to be creative with how these functionalities were implemented.”
After choosing the prototype, the team splits up into sub-groups, each with their own specific jobs for creating a fully-functioning machine. Sophomore Drew Whitney is one of two designers on the team that uses the CAD program to plan and print different parts of the robot.
“The responsibilities that come along with this include making sure every part gets manufactured once designed. We do this on our CNC [Computer Numerical Control] machine or the machine shop we have in-house,” said Whitney.
After mock blueprints for the robot are created, parts are produced in Redondo Union auto mechanics lab Snyder’s sub-team, which assembles the electrical component of the robot, then begins their work.
“Every wire on the robot is cut to length, stripped, and receives a special connector,” said Snyder. “We ensure the robot is able to turn on before it goes over to programming. I get a week or two to plan how I want the electronics to layout. My job is to just be ready at the drop of a hat and expect the unexpected.”
Out of the 40 students on the team, only 25 are able to travel to the global competition in Texas. The robot, and any other tools needed during the competition, will be packed into a 53-foot trailer to be driven to Texas. According to Whitney, the packing process for the robot is quite tedious due to its delicateness.
“We pack all our [materials] into these road cases, [which] act as our pit when we get to competitions, making sure we have every tool and spare part we need,” said Whitney. “Most of the parts on the robot are highly custom and can’t be made without highly sophisticated machinery.”
Students part of the Beach Cities Robotics team agree that their favorite part of the program is the friendships they have built with each other. Despite the team being composed of students from rival schools, they have formed close bonds with each other as they working toward a common goal.
“The whole program is very community-oriented which is great because, as we can form a web of people who are interested in STEM, including mentors, to connect with in the future,” said Bennett.
Leave a Reply