This news comes from Oxford and Pugwash, road to EAST robotics competition held by tommorow…
Students at two local high schools are hoping their boxes of nuts, bolts and spare parts will become robots capable of capturing a pirate’s flag this weekend.
The students are preparing for the annual Robots EAST robotics competition in Fredericton on May 3, in which schools from across Atlantic Canada will pit their robots against each other for a trophy and bragging rights.
Representing Cumberland County at the event will be Oxford Regional High School and Pugwash District High School. For Oxford student John Newman, it is the third straight year he has been involved with the project.
“I saw all my friends doing it three years ago, and it seemed like a lot of fun,” said the Grade 12 student. “You get to work with your hands, then go compete with other schools to see how you do with what you built.”
This is also the third year of participation for Pugwash Grade 12 student Amy Cameron, who said the team learns a lot each year.
“As a group, from the get-go, we learn to work together brainstorming, and combining our ideas so we come up with the best possible plan for our robot,” she said. “Each year, the task we have to be able to perform has not only a different theme, but the objective of it is also different. The experience you gain when you enter a competition like this is not like any other.”
Robots EAST (Exploration and Awareness of Science and Technology) provides high school students from the Atlantic provinces with the opportunity to design, build and test large (30 kg) robots, constructed from kits of parts supplied by Robots EAST and from materials purchased, if necessary.
The goals of the 13-year-old competition include providing experience in practical engineering, science and technology, and to increase awareness of science and technology in the general population, according to event co-ordinator Elizabeth Sanford.
The Oxford group has a core of about five Grade 12 students working on the robot, along with some others from younger grades who are helping out but will not travel to Fredericton for the event.
John admitted they are a little behind schedule on their project this year, and said teamwork will be vital for their success.
“You have to work with the team in order to accomplish anything,” he said. “You need all the fabrication, all the planning and all the design done as a group, or it’s way too much work for one person to do.”
In the past, the students working on the robot have tended to split into two separate groups, according to staff advisor Andrea Small, who said it became a problem because one group would end up not sure about what the other group was doing. She said that such communication has not been a problem this year.
“The current group we have are also close friends, so they end up talking together a lot and tend to all know what the other person is working on,” she said. “That’s a very positive thing, because they know where they’re going collectively.”
The students have been working on the robot during time after school, and have local business A & M Fabrication doing all of their welding work for them, free of charge. The students are expected to write an engineering report, prepare a multi-media presentation, as well as sketches and diagrams of the robot for the competition.
The Pugwash team consists of four Grade 12 students, five Grade 11 students and one Grade 10 student. The school has traditionally done well at the competition during its past 10 years of participation, and even won it two years ago.
They are hoping to do well again this year, but are also looking to have fun doing it, according to Amy.
“Everyone who goes to the competition is there to do their best, and have fun,” she said. “That is exactly what we, the Pugwash Privateers, are planning to do as well. We plan to give everyone a run for their money as we do every year, and we do not doubt that we will be able to intimidate our opponents once again.”
The tournament involves four teams at a time vying for mastery of the playing field, to determine an overall winner. The task of the robot is to capture “pirate’s treasure” and a flag from a tall post. Awards are presented for most innovative strategy, best engineered robot, and best multi-media presentation, in addition to the Atlantic championship.
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