With the popularity of the new movie “Big Hero 6” by Disney’s Animation Studios, building robots and robotics might be the next big thing. However, robotics in schools and robotics teams have been around for awhile.
Moorestown Friends School’s robotics team started in 2007. Since then, it has been participating in competitions around the region.
This year, the MFS Hawks finished in first place out of 24 teams at the competitive New Jersey FIRST Tech Challenge Meet. They also were the winners of the PTC Design Award, the winning Alliance Team and nominated for the Innovate Award.
“We were pretty excited. We were working on the robot for a couple of months, and it was really nice to see all of our hard work pay off,” said Andrew Edzenga, a member of the Hawks robotics team.
The Hawks are coached by math teacher Michael Omilian and physics teacher Tim Clarke. Student team members are Scott Abrams, Armon Adibi, Ahimsa Aradhya, Ryan Baker, Travis Benedict, Dragon Ding, Edzenga, Aparna Hiremath, Colin Kirby, Jake Roswald and Matt Scalamandre.
In September, the teams were introduced to the game in which their robot would have to compete. This year, the robot had to collect whiffle balls and put them in vertical tubes, then move the tubes onto a platform to get points.
The Hawks started off with the design of a basic robot, and from there, they worked after school every day to perfect it until it was competition ready. Their robot included a basket that they used a 3D printer to make, helping them to win the PTC Design Award, along with their sketches.
“You see it on the computer, and then when it finally takes form and you see it in person, it is something you can really take pride in,” Benedict said.
The PTC Design Award recognizes design elements of the robot that are both functional and aesthetic; all successful robots are innovative, but the PTC Design Award is presented to teams that incorporate industrial design elements into their solution. This award is sponsored by the Parametric Technology Corporation, developers of the CAD tools, Creo and Mathcad. PTC gives licenses to the FTC student teams for these software products to help them with their designs.
“The hardest part is doing so much in the amount of time we have. There is a lot to do in that amount of time,” Baker said.
“Parents expect them to maintain grades. It is really a balancing act to do all of these things. It is a big time constraint, especially when students also participate in sports, plays and musicals,” Omilian said.
Because of these constraints, nine members of the team were able to attend the New Jersey First Tech Challenge Meet. At the meet, there were five preliminary matches, five semi-final matches and a final match. Of all the matches, the Hawks won all except one due to a loss of communication with the field control system. However, that didn’t hold them back from winning the overall title.
With the Alliance Award, the robotics teams were able to choose a partner to compete with the whole event. The Hawks chose a team called the Tech Hounds from Northern Burlington County High School. They ended up winning that as well.
The Hawks are not done yet. During the course of the year, teams are allowed to enter two to four competitions leading up to the state championship. The purpose of these competitions is to gain points to improve the team’s ranking. They are competing in the Delaware state championship in January, the Pennsylvania qualifying state match in February and the New Jersey state championship in March.
Students from freshmen to seniors are encouraged to check out the robotics club. They meet during lunch and after school, and if anyone wants to join, the mentors and members take the student under their wing and show them how they can get involved.
“We’re using robotics to introduce them into engineering principles, the idea of design, development, problem-solving and incorporating science, technology and math,” Clarke said.
To learn more about robotics and the New Jersey FIRST Tech Challenge Meet, go to www.newjerseyftc.com.
