Best of the Week 2021-2022: Excellence in College Prep

ST. ED'S ROBOTICS TEAM COMPETES IN FIRST REGIONAL COMPETITION

After months of preparation, St. Ed's Robotics team competed in the 2022 FIRST Robotics Competition this week against teams from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Wisconsin. The focal game of this year's competition called "Rapid React," presented by The Boeing Company, forms two alliances of three teams each to compete in a game to score points using the robots they've built to shoot objects and climb. In a timed competition, teams will be able to control their robots as drivers and the alliance that scores the most points wins the match and competition overall. Click here to learn more about the logistics behind the Rapid React Game.

Edsmen have spent the last eight weeks building a 75 lb. robot that can climb and launch tennis balls. In addition to the game component of the competition, students have also taken the time to write a "Chairman's Essay" and produce a three-minute video for an additional award at the FIRST Robotics Competition. "The students have learned how to problem solve, design utilizing custom parts as well as prefabricated parts, wire electronics, program, and troubleshoot," says Engineering Department Chair JC Froelich '08. "The biggest challenge they've faced is the limited time to design and build the robot, but they have utilized many Enrichment Periods, Community Periods, and time after school to beat this challenge. Students completed the robot in approximately six weeks allowing the programmers to have plenty of time to troubleshoot their code. Through this competition, students have been given the opportunity to see their skills learned in the classroom put to the test to complete real-world tasks." To see more of the behind the scenes work the St. Ed's Robotics Team has put in this year, check out their Instagram page @SEHS_Robotics.