Northwestern robotics program expands

 

WINSTED — The Northwestern Regional High School robotics program, which is continuing with its second year at the school, has expanded its program to seventh- and eighth-grade classes.

Sixteen students in grades nine through 12 are part of the national For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition program at the school while nine students are in the school’s seventh- and eighth-grade FIRST Tech Challenge program.

The robots used in the FIRST Tech Challenge are easier to program and much more affordable than robots used in the FIRST Robotic Competition.

“The Tech Challenge program is great because it shows students what to look forward to when they hit the Robotic program,” student and NRG Northwestern Robotics Gearheads club president Eli Wootton said. “We want to get the younger grades started and interested in robotics.”

Scott Spencer, who is a mentor for the team, said its good for students to have more time to learn about robotics.

“The Tech Challenge program allows younger students to get introduced to robotics instead of just throwing them into a program,” Spencer said. 

The name of the team’s Tech Challenge robot is “Bach Mozart Ishmael III.”

“We voted on that name because we want to mess with the judges whenever they have to mention the robot’s name,” eighth-grade student Taylor Goyette, 13, said. 

Last year, the FIRST Robotics team did so well at competitions they made it to the National Robotics Competition Championships.

This year, the robotics team will be competing in a game called “Ultimate Ascent.”

The game, which is played on a 27-by-54-foot field, is played by two competing teams, each made up of three different robots.

Each team competes to score as many discs into goals as possible during a two minute match.

The Tech Challenge team will be competing in a game called “Ring It Up”, which is played on a smaller 12 -by-12-foot diamond shaped field.

The game is played with two different teams made up of two robots.

Each team scores points by placing plastic rings onto rings on a rack in the center of the field.

The first competition for both teams, the state regionals, will begin on Thursday, March 28, at the Hartford Convention Center.

For more information visit the team’s website at www.nrg4055.org.

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