(Courtesy/Mr. Fish)
After hundreds of hours spent designing, building, and testing its robots, the robotics team traveled to Marion, Ohio, to compete in the National Robotics Challenge from Thursday, April 3, through Saturday, April 5. Under Mr. Devore’s guidance, the club sent 18 students to the competition, competing in a variety of events and winning several awards.
On the first day, Adam A. and Jayden T. secured second place in Micromouse by building a small, self-contained robot that navigates a maze. In the same event, Max B. was the Honda Innovation Award Nominee for his thorough engineering notebook and creative design. Thursday was also the first round of Robo Hockey, an event in which each team builds two remote-controlled robots to play hockey against their opponents. Played in a double-elimination style with three-minute matches, two teams from Academy qualified for finals: duo Bella L. and Jude S., along with the team of AA A., Phinn B-M., Dane C., Andy L., and Arnav N.
The following day starred combat robots, the most popular type. As its name suggests, the event features remote-controlled robots equipped with weapons to destroy their opponents in two-minute matches. Judges split 26 teams from the High School Beetleweight (3-pound robot) class into two brackets. Each bracket advanced four teams to the finals on Saturday, with the double elimination style guaranteeing each robot at least three matches. After each match was a race against the clock as team members assessed damage and repaired their robots. Depending on the power of the opponent’s attack, repairs ranged from tightening screws to rebuilding a robot from scratch—but in only 15 minutes. After being the last team to leave at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Academy secured three of the eight spots in the final bracket.
Robo Hockey and Beetleweight Combat Robots returned on Saturday, hopeful for podium finishes. In the first round of Robo Hockey, the two Academy teams played each other, with Phinn’s team emerging victorious in a shootout. After losing their next two matches, they placed fifth overall. Meanwhile, Bella and Jude climbed their way up the loser’s bracket, winning against four teams before facing Marlington. To win gold, however, they would have to win two games. After a successful first match and close second game, they fell to their opponents and claimed silver.
For the combat robots, all three Academy teams (whose captains were Phinn, Dane, and William D.), won their first matches. In round two, Dane triumphed against William and Landen L. for his aggression and control, while Phinn’s team conceded to EIT Academy from Texas, the toughest competitor. Though it dropped them down to the loser’s bracket, this strategy let them conserve their robot and prevent damage as their goal was to advance further in the tournament. Both William and Phinn’s team lost their next matches, making their final rankings fifth and sixth.
Meanwhile, Dane also forfeited to EIT Academy in the hopes of postponing their fight until the final two. After winning another match in the loser’s bracket, the final fight arrived: it was time to face the robot everyone was scared of. Dane charged at his opponent, immediately flipping it over with a powerful hit. After another attack, EIT Academy tapped out, unable to move. In the second game, however, his opponent struck first and Dane’s robot flew upwards. After a few more hits and loose parts, Dane ended with second place in a thriller match.
With three second-place finishes and over half of the team qualifying for finals, this marks the most successful year for CA robotics yet.
As a helper who had the privilege of witnessing the process, it takes true passion, commitment, and time to build complex, functional robots. Placing at the National Robotics Challenge is no small feat, and as the program continues to grow, it will no doubt find more success through the hard work of dedicated students.
