A team of 10 Gateway High School students and two teachers has been working for two months on a robot that will compete in the First Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition, which will be held at University of Pittsburgh's Petersen Events Center from March 13 to 15.
Dubbing their team "Quasics," the students, led by co-captains Katia Paramonova and Becky Stabile, have spent many days after school, huddled in the science room, where they worked on programming, melding, sawing and improvising to get their robot done.
In the competition, teams will line up their robots outside a carpeted, 27-foot-by-54-foot, race-track-shaped field on which their robots will need to cross a finish line.
At the center of the track, suspended more than 6 feet above the floor, will be an "overpass" holding four 40-inch-diameter "track balls."
The robots must not only cross the finish line, but move the balls along with them.
If a robot can pick up a ball and raise it above the overpass before passing the finish line, the team gets bonus points.
The robots also will earn bonus points if they take the balls off the overpass before the race begins and if they place them back on the overpass when it ends.
"I thought it was a good opportunity," said Ed Senor, physics and chemistry teacher, about the robotics project.
"And we didn't want to sleep for ... a few weeks."
Though the teachers have been helping out, they have kept the project as student-focused as possible and have tried to work in more of an advisory role.
That means the students had to select from approximately $4,000 worth of gadgets they got from the program -- which include plywood, elastic bands, motors, Styrofoam and car batteries, among others -- to build their robot and get it to work. The robot grew from what amounted to plywood on wheels to a person-sized machine that looks almost like a catapult. The robot has an arm that can extend to the ground, slide beneath a ball and hold the ball.
Robotics is something that has fascinated 14-year-old Christian Richardson, a member of the team, from an early age.
"I took apart a telephone when I was 4. I think that's what sparked it," said Christian. "I wanted to know how things worked."
Nick Grieco, 16, got in-volved with them team after his teacher showed him a video of a robotics competition online. Nick programmed the team's robot and hooked up its sensors.
"I just wanted to see an epic win," said Nick, when asked why he got involved in the project. The students have their own Web site, designed by senior Anirudh Channarasappa, that can be viewed at http://www.quasics.com/.
The students received sponsorship for the robotics project from Adara Tech.
The competition in March is sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Heinz Endowments, Pittsburgh Technology Council and Catalyst Connection. (source: Monroeville Times Express)
Dubbing their team "Quasics," the students, led by co-captains Katia Paramonova and Becky Stabile, have spent many days after school, huddled in the science room, where they worked on programming, melding, sawing and improvising to get their robot done.
In the competition, teams will line up their robots outside a carpeted, 27-foot-by-54-foot, race-track-shaped field on which their robots will need to cross a finish line.
At the center of the track, suspended more than 6 feet above the floor, will be an "overpass" holding four 40-inch-diameter "track balls."
The robots must not only cross the finish line, but move the balls along with them.
If a robot can pick up a ball and raise it above the overpass before passing the finish line, the team gets bonus points.
The robots also will earn bonus points if they take the balls off the overpass before the race begins and if they place them back on the overpass when it ends.
"I thought it was a good opportunity," said Ed Senor, physics and chemistry teacher, about the robotics project.
"And we didn't want to sleep for ... a few weeks."
Though the teachers have been helping out, they have kept the project as student-focused as possible and have tried to work in more of an advisory role.
That means the students had to select from approximately $4,000 worth of gadgets they got from the program -- which include plywood, elastic bands, motors, Styrofoam and car batteries, among others -- to build their robot and get it to work. The robot grew from what amounted to plywood on wheels to a person-sized machine that looks almost like a catapult. The robot has an arm that can extend to the ground, slide beneath a ball and hold the ball.
Robotics is something that has fascinated 14-year-old Christian Richardson, a member of the team, from an early age.
"I took apart a telephone when I was 4. I think that's what sparked it," said Christian. "I wanted to know how things worked."
Nick Grieco, 16, got in-volved with them team after his teacher showed him a video of a robotics competition online. Nick programmed the team's robot and hooked up its sensors.
"I just wanted to see an epic win," said Nick, when asked why he got involved in the project. The students have their own Web site, designed by senior Anirudh Channarasappa, that can be viewed at http://www.quasics.com/.
The students received sponsorship for the robotics project from Adara Tech.
The competition in March is sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Heinz Endowments, Pittsburgh Technology Council and Catalyst Connection. (source: Monroeville Times Express)
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