In the News: NHS to have two robot teams

Two teams are raising funds to participate in robotic challenges later this year
Laurent Bonczijk, The Newberg Graphic

After whetting their appetites with one robotics team last year, Newberg High School students are trying to form two teams to compete this year. One team is applying for grants and raising money to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), the category NHS competed in last year, while the other team plans to compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) with a smaller, less costly robot.

“The entry fee is $5,000,” said Emmett Hayden, 16, who is the FRC team captain.

The challenge is to build from a kit a robot that can compete in a game. The game changes every year and is announced as the parts are shipped. Last year the NHS team played robot soccer at Memorial Coliseum on a field ripe with obstacles. Once they’ve received their parts, the teams have six weeks to build a functional robot.

The FTC is the FRC’s little brother. The robots are smaller (they have to fit in an 18-inch cube), the programming is simpler and the technology used is more basic. The game to play is announced well in advance, so that students have more time to design, build and test their machines before hitting the field.

It’s also a cheaper contest, as the base kit only costs $750, but industrial and engineering teacher Terry Coss said that neighboring schools who compete in that category spend $3,000 to $5,000 on each team.

While last year’s team was upperclassmen heavy, this year’s teams sport a lot of underclassmen who look forward to competing this winter.

Both teams will hold a fundraiser at Burgerville from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday. “Bob” the robot will be present.