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Club competes at world championship

Date: 5/26/2009

By Kaitlyn Schroyer

Staff Intern



EAST LONGMEADOW The East Longmeadow High School (ELHS) Robotics Team came home from Texas with a great learning experience and ready to face the future.

The school's robotics team, founded by physics teacher Peter Van Buren in March 2008 with help from a grant from the East Longmeadow Educational Endowment Fund, traveled to Dallas, Texas, from April 30 to May 2 to compete in the VEX Robotics World Championships.

"It was a learning experience," Van Buren said. "We didn't do as well as hoped, but it was our first time [participating]."

Before competing in Dallas, the team had to make it to the finals. They sold hex bugs - tiny pieces of a programming that run until their antennae feel something and then change direction - at $10 each to help raise the funds to travel to the world championships. They also accepted donations from LM Tarbell Inc., SAFCO Foam Insulation LLC, Webster Bank, Dr. Belisa A. Basile and Alden Credit Union.

The team of 10 students had 10 days to build a robot to compete at Boston University (BU) to help secure a spot at the world championship. With only a short amount of time to build the robot, the team took second place at BU. With this performance on Nov. 7, the Robotics Team took home the overall tournament champion title.

"It takes a lot of time to build one robot," Nathan Varney, a freshman at ELHS and a member of the Robotics Team, said. "You think about it all the time and it's a lot of learning from experience. On average, it takes about 150 hours ... to complete one robot."

Robotics consists of building a robot that can compete successfully in a certain challenge. ELHS' Robotics Team competed in "Elevation."

"This year, the challenge, Elevation, was picking up foam cubes and getting them to triangular goals. The arena is 12 feet by 12 feet and two robots go up against each other," Van Buren explained.

The robots are built out of specific hardware and need to be able to fulfill the tasks set before them. Efficiency is the key to programming a successful robot. The robot created by the East Longmeadow Robotics Team can hold as many as 10 foam cubes at one time.

In the past, the VEX Robotics World Championship has had over 10 countries represented. With the learning experience of reaching the world championships and competing there, the team hopes to expand its membership and continue on.

"It was a great experience, meeting other teams from other countries and trying to communicate with them," Varney said. "We had some bad luck, but there were some close matches. We hope to learn and keep going to the world championships and improve our designs."

"It was an eye opening experience. We learned what went well and what we had overlooked. We are hoping to take what was learned and apply it for upcoming years," John Tarbell, also a freshman at ELHS and a member of the team, said.

Students are encouraged to join the Robotics Team and try to get another shot at the world championships. "We are hoping to get more students involved and be able to build more robots," Van Buren said. "The team is open to anyone who wishes to join."

Team members do not have to have experience in the programming field. Tarbell started three years ago, at summer camps.

"I went to a summer camp at Smith College which included programming and robotics. I knew when I entered high school that I didn't want to sit on the sidelines. I wanted to be a part of it," he said.

Knowing robotics and how to program them could be a useful skill in the future with the constant expansion of robots in the workforce.

"Robots could be used to replace dangerous jobs," Tarbell commented. "They could be used for such jobs as firefighters and the military. Currently, they're already being used for a lot of jobs."

Those interested in making donations can contact Van Buren at (774) 289-6669.