For students involved with robotics, January means build season has begun. Build season is the month when students work together to build a robot to take to competitions.
“In robotics, you have six weeks to finish building the robot,” sophomore Sydney Scholes said. “You have six weeks and that’s all. You can’t go past the end day, you have to stop and package up your robot and you’re done. Then you go to competitions. Hopefully at the end of those six weeks you have a working robot that is programmed to operate.”
Build season definitely has its high points for the students.
“My favorite part is working on the robot all the time,” junior Liam Floyd said. “It’s cool, especially towards the end when it comes together.”
Students aren’t the only ones though who enjoy the process.
“For me, it’s getting to see all the students doing things they’ve never done before,” advisor Jason Lowe said. “People who have never lifted a screwdriver before are using power tools so that’s really exciting to see. I also like to see the progression, how all the creativity comes out in the start. As a team we brainstorm ideas, we prototype everything and as a team we decide what we want to do. Seeing the robot getting built from scratch is a really cool experience.”
Of course, as with all challenging activities, there come challenges and frustrations.
“We get some people that get distracted pretty easily or some who are unsure of what they need to do so they don’t ask for help,” Lowe said. “And of course, with any project, students procrastinate, so we don’t get as much work done at the front end of build season and then we get down to the end and run out of time.”
Senior Brooke Yanez agreed.
“I get frustrated when everything is going right and then one thing goes wrong and you have to restart everything,” senior Brooke Yanez said.
All these frustrations are eventually worth it to those participating when it comes to competing. For competitions, students program the robot to perform the task given to them. The different tasks vary from year to year.
“The task this year is Recycle Rush where we have to lift boxes and move them onto scoring platforms,” Yanez said.
“We’re stacking totes and then we have to put recycling bins on top of those and then put pool noodles in the recycling bins using the robot,” Scholes said.
The difficulty of the tasks can vary from year to year and so can the different elements of the tasks.
“[This year] is definitely different from others,” Floyd said. “Last year’s game was throwing an exercise ball and this year is stacking crates. It can be more difficult just with having to stack all the crates. It’s different, which I think does add a bit more of a challenge.”
Those who participate find it a rewarding activity and would encourage others to join.
“Robotics is a lot of fun for anyone who loves to do anything with their hands,” Yanez said. “And it’s not just working with your hands, there’s something for everyone.”
Whether it be design, programming or building, there really is something for everyone.