No flame-throwers. No projectiles. These are the only rules for the BotsIQ battle ‘bot competition; that and it had to weigh less than 15 lbs. After months of preparation, planning, building and rebuilding, FHS was ready to face competition at the Southwestern Pennsylvania BotsIQ Finals.
Before battling in the finals, all robots had to attend the preliminary competition in February. Even if the robots were not prepared and ready to battle by this date, all ‘bots were required to be present at the event. This competition did not determine ranks or statics, but rather served as an aid and reference day to ask pointers to improve a robot or battle each other to see how your team’s robot could improve.
After the preliminary battle the team began “re-fabricating with a new design,” advisor Mrs. Beth Majors said. Since then, the innards hadn’t changed, but the alterations to the external frame had made all the difference.
Instead of the original square-like design, they altered it to have the “front” come together like an equilateral trapezoid. They also added extrusions to the side that could both impale the opponent or flip it upside down in hopes to render it immobile.
That exactly was the goal of the battles: to fight until immobile. During the first round of finals, FHS rivaled a team from Brownsville Area High School.
“In our first battle, we were against a school with seven years’ experience and we kicked ‘bot,’” Majors said. “My favorite thing was seeing the kids excited about it and doing better than I’d thought.”
At the competition, 51 schools attended, some of which had entered more than just one robot resulting in 75 competing robots. Of these robots, Freedom finished in the top eight of a bracketed, play-off-style competition. From this, the team received the plaque for “Best Rookie Team.”
VEKA Inc. aided in machining various parts of the robot, thusly dubbing the name of the robot “VEKA” in thanks for the company. This help proved beneficial, too. The stability the company provided that machine enabled the robot to preserve its shape and tenacity.
In fact, the robot was not destroyed or even damaged severely in any way. Instead, the ‘bot was flipped on its side, leaning on the wall of the enclosure, therefore its wheels could not move it out of its state. If it hadn’t been for this half-flip, the robot may have defeated the opponent and moved on further to the next bracket.
According to Majors, some robots brought by other schools had to be shoveled out.
“We didn’t have to do that,” Majors said.
Starting in 2006 with six participating schools, BotsIQ has since expanded to more than 800 students. Held in the Convocation Center of California University of Pennsylvania, the competition took place on April 25 and 26.