New home offers robotics team chance to expand

Date: 2/22/2012

Feb. 22, 2012

By Debbie Gardner

debbieg@thereminder.com

WEST SPRINGFIELD — The West Springfield High School Robotics Team has a new home, and in that new space is returning to its original policy of including students from other school districts.

Donald Jarvis, principal at the Lower Pioneer Valley Education Collaborative (LPVEC) — the new home of the Mecatronic Maniacs — said the team chose to relocate to the Brush Hill school site for two reasons, better workspace and tools and increased access to potential team members.

"They wanted more student access and we have seven sending districts," Jarvis said. The LPVEC's vocational programs draw students from Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Agawam, the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District, the Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District and Ludlow in addition to West Springfield.

The team showed off its new home and this year's competition challenge to develop a robot that can shoot basketballs through hoops mounted at various heights — during an open house at LPVEC on Feb. 16.

Robotics Team Business Mentor Tim Crary said the move to the LPVEC meant the 11-member student team now has its own dedicated computer room, which has been "a godsend" during the frantic six-week design and build period between the unveiling of the annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition challenge in January and the team's initial competition; it will take on other student-built robots in its first shootout in Boston at the Agannis Arena on March 23 and 24.

A dedicated robot storage and workspace in the school's carpentry shop is also much appreciated.

Sergi Starosielski, who with his wife and son, Alex, founded the first West Springfield robotics team nine years ago, said his team, too, was originally located outside the high school.

"There was no space, so we went to Cowing [Elementary] School," he remembered.

Starosielski said he helped found the club after his son became interested in the work of the Agawam robotics team at an exhibit at the Eastern States Exposition. When Alex inquired about joining, he was told the team would not take students from outside its school district, so Starosielski and his family formed a Westside team.

That first team, which went all the way to the championships in 2003, included "a kid for St. Thomas [Aquinas Catholic School], kids from Springfield and one from Cathedral [High School]," Starosielski added.

He remained team coordinator until 2011. By then, he said Alex had completed his studies at West Springfield High School, gone on to earn an engineering degree from the University of Massachusetts and landed a job at Raytheon.

Crary said like Alex, 50 percent of the students who take part in the club "go on to college for an engineering degree."

Richard Gingras, an engineering freshman at Western New England University who joined the Mecatronic Maniacs this build season as a mentor, explained the draw of the team.

"From my perspective it's a fun project. It's a challenging, rewarding experience, and a fun sport," Gingras, who spent three of his high school years on a similar team, said. "I wanted to stay involved."

But not every student who joins the Maniacs has his or her sights set on becoming an engineer, as in the case of sophomores Vincent DiBlasio and Jacob Mountain, who like to "play with robots" and were reworking the operating software for last year's model during the open house, programmers.

As Megan Schelb, the team's business manager said, the team has roles for students of all abilities.

"You don't have to know computers to be on a robotics team," said the hard-working Schelb, who has not only written the team's business plan, but also taken on the marketing jobs of creating its promotional flyers and organizing team fund-raising. "You can come in knowing nothing [about robotics] and they teach you everything."

Monaliza Samonte, another Maniacs member, said there is also work for students interested in communications and advertising, creating the "teasers and videos for the [team] website and doing presentations for the team" to help attract sponsors.

Two things team members do need to have — regardless of their role — are dedication to the project and a willingness to fund-raise. The basic build kit costs the team between $5,000 and $10,000 each season, and though sponsorships may help cover that expense, there are still funds needed for additional materials, competition fees and team travel that can up the yearly budget to $20,000. Members must also be willing to dedicate six evenings a week to robot during the four-to-six week build phase between the January challenge and the "bag and tag" — or wrapping up of the completed robot for shipment — just prior to the first competition.

But, as Starosielski said, it's all worth it when the team gets its robot on the floor at one of the high-energy competitions.

"It's like a football game. There's a crowd [in the stands], there's music, and lots of activity," he said.

To get a taste of what a robotics competition is like, check out the three-minute competition video on the team's website, www.team1027.com. the site also has information about how to join the team. Individuals can also contact LPVEC Principal Donald Jarvis at 735-6304.

For more information about FIRST Robotics Competitions, visit www.usfirst.org.