Strath Haven’s robotics team has been working long hours to create the perfect robot and club advancements for their annual seasonal competition.
This season has been an opportunity for tremendous growth and learning for robotics team members.
Like all years, the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology) robotics international competition begins in January with a goal that guides teams when building their competing robot.
“This season we were given our goal for the competition…which was basically to collect these rings and put them in a lower open goal and upper goal; basically, we had to score these foam rings into the goals by shooting them,” junior robotics team member Luke Averill said.
Since then, it’s been go-time for the team with continuous building and programming to fulfill the requirements for the competition. This process remains fairly consistent across the years.
“We basically had the same mindset: we’re going to try things and some of those things aren’t going to work and we’re just going to try new things after that,” junior Jaden Hunter said. “It’s a very iterative process.”
The team faced a variety of unique challenges this year. For example, the team had to face the burden of setting up and properly utilizing the new hardware being implemented in their robot.
“This is our first year using the Swerve Drivetrain, which is a fast moving drivetrain for the robot,” Hunter said. “We had to work towards building those gearboxes and implementing those motors and working around a new frame to fit that sort of drivetrain and programming. Programming the Swerve Drivetrain is something that we’ve never done before, so we ran into a lot of new obstacles in that department compared to every other past year.”
Working out the logistics of the drivetrain itself was already a difficult feat, but after many members of the robotics team graduated last year, the current members had no choice but to step up and work harder than ever before.
“Coding was definitely our biggest hurdle this year because we lost our major coder last year because he graduated,” Averill said. “Now we have JJ [junior JJ Bohr] who’s our current coder who was really learning the ropes during the preseason this year.”
Coding was not the only obstacle they faced this year. The team also had to learn what it truly meant to work together this year, as many seniors had filled the leadership roles after last year.
“We all had to fill big shoes. We had to grow as people. We had to grow as a team. We had to grow in, not just in our ability to build a robot, but our ability to build a robot together… we had to learn how to effectively lead each other in our respective areas of expertise… and that was definitely a hurdle,” Hunter said.
Although determined to do the job, the team rose to the occasion, taking advantage of the new drivetrain. After finishing building the robot in early March, the team participated in the 2024 FIRST Robotics Crescendo Competition. They made it to the quarterfinals in the Seneca FMA (FIRST Mid-Atlantic) District Event.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t end up getting into the district finals due to lacking the number of needed qualification points, unlike last year where we did make it,” Averill said. “This was mainly due to the fact that it’s just a really competitive district.”
The team competes in schools with extensive robotics programs in the Mid-Atlantic District.
“To put into context, another team [in the area] has the funding of $3.2 million. Our funding is roughly around $10,000,” junior Jacob Jurkech said.
Considering the program’s expenses, the team faces setbacks due to the need for more funding. Their robot this year cost about $6,000 to make, and there are fees for each competition, along with the $5,000 payment to be registered to compete every season.
Regardless, the team’s progress this year with the setup of new hardware and general advancement has significantly impacted the program for years to come.
“We have a very solid team right now,” Hunter said. “We all love robotics. We all want to be here and we all really respect all the other individuals on this team. We’re all smart, capable, and committed, and I think that’s what really matters. I think next year is going to go really well.”
