Sparticles gearing up for return trip to world championships

Date: 12/28/2009

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



EAST LONGMEADOW - Last year, the East Longmeadow High School robotics team (the Sparticles) was like a prototype - it worked well, but the team knew it could do more. Team version 2.0 is expanded and ready to rock the VEX Robotics World Championships in April.

The 2008-09 team consisted of six members; this year, they've more than doubled their number at 14. Veterans from last year have returned, but there are a lot of fresh faces with the freshmen.

"I think robots are cool. I think that's how we all feel," ninth grader Joe Zemba said. He's part of the robotics team's C Team. There are four teams total. Zemba said everyone on his team has worked on robots before.

He explained that there's more to the robotics team than just building a robot - team members have to research their competition, go through a design phase, program the robots, find the right drivers so they perform the right functions, ensure all the parts and rotors work correctly and develop strategies for competitions.

"The hardest part is cooperation," Zemba said. "If one of us has a plan and someone's missing from a meeting and then that person comes in with another idea, it changes everything up. We need to work in teams. Doing this really teaches you about teamwork."

When asked if it was difficult to come up with original ideas while working in the same room with three other teams, B Team member Matt Salo, a sophomore, said no.

"A Team [last year's veterans] makes the most unique designs. They're working on a scissor lift idea. We're doing a scoop intake with a bucket. C Team has a different kind of intake. D Team is doing a bucket too, but it's different from ours," he explained.

All the designs are used in the VEX Robotics Competition: Clean Sweep. According to the VEX Robotics Web site, VEX Clean Sweep is played on a 12-foot by 12-foot square field, which is split down the center. Two alliances - one 'red' and one 'blue,' made up of two teams each - compete in matches that include 20-second autonomous periods followed by two minutes of driver-controlled play.

The object of the game is to attain a higher score than your opponent's alliance by moving as many balls as possible onto their side of the field and by placing small balls in the triangular goals. Small balls are worth one point each; football-shaped balls are worth five points, and a basketball-sized ball introduced toward the end of play is worth 10 points.

"We get a basic design [for how to move the balls], and then we build from the ground up. We make changes as we go. If we need to make modifications, we do," Salo said.

The East Longmeadow team made it the VEX Robotics World Championships, which take place in Dallas, Texas, last year, but were outshone by the competition. That was a learning experience, according to the Sparticles' advisor, physics teacher Peter Van Buren.

"We have more diverse ideas [with the bigger team]," he said. "In two competitions this year, we've won five trophies. I'm happy with what we've done but there's always room for improvement."

Van Buren explained that last year, the team's goal was simply to make it to Dallas - this year, he wants to see his squads make it to the elimination round.

"We're really nervous, but mainly excited for Dallas," Zemba said. "We're anxious."

The VEX Robotics World Championships will be taking place the week of school vacation in April, and to help raise funds for the trip, the robotics team is again selling Hex Bugs, two-inch long robotic creatures that react to touch. To purchase a bug, e-mail pvanburen@eastlongmeadowma.gov.

The team would like to thank their sponsors - LM Tarbell Inc., SAFCO Foam Insulation LLC, Webster Bank, Dr. Belisa A. Basile, Alden Credit Union, Lockwood Farms, Pizza Shoppe, Abide, Steven Kessler MD, and SLIME, the afterschool science workshops organized by Donna Salo for grades three through five - for their support.

To learn more about VEX Robotics competitions, visit www.vexrobotics.com/vex-competitions.shtml.