Freshmen Will Faver and Bergen Klaehn operate their robots in the Clear Lake robotics room on Monday.
Abby Koch
Teamwork and strategy are some of the key ingredients to a successful robotics team.
Clear Lake robotics teams saw four groups compete in Mount Vernon last weekend. Two of the four groups, ‘Nice n’ Crispy and ‘The Loco Oompa Loompas,’ qualified to compete at state competition in Waukee.
Robotics teams score points by directing their robots to complete different tasks on its own or through a joystick controller. Teams face other sets of teams, also known as alliances in matches, according to robotics coach Ryan Bowman.
After match play, teams are placed into a seeded competition play and can face elimination.
“We got (to Mount Vernon) and you realized within the first few matches how tough the day is going to be…” said freshman Bergen Klaehn. “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, oftentimes, when it comes to robotics.”
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Freshman Malinda Voortmann and Klaehn, part of the Nice n Crispy group, said they ran into a situation at Mount Vernon in which their bot started spinning in circles for a portion of a round. The group had to figure out quickly why the issue came up, which they guessed was an issue with the hardware.
But, freshman Will Faver, part of The Loco Oompa Loompas, said the Mount Vernon competition went smoothly for his group and bot.
Bowman said the competition was a good opportunity for the team to identify where they need to improve their bots.
“In the last week and the rest of this week, they’re experiencing iteration and figuring out what didn’t work so that it can be a more competitive robot in the future,” said Bowman.
Freshmen Bergen Klaehn and Melinda Voortman are a part of the Nice n Crispy group for the Clear Lake robotics teams.
Abby Koch
Klaehn explained building a robot for competition depends on if a team wants to go for a defensive or offensive strategy. He added oftentimes there is a design that teams find that have a good balance of both.
A new game each year means a new robot needs to be created to tackle the challenges. Teams also have a chance to receive a number of awards, such as for design creativity or community outreach.
“We’re not just learning how to build robots, although we are learning that, we’re also learning how to reprogram them and we also have to keep a documentation of everything we do in our notebook,” said Voortmann. “We’re also learning life skills such as working hard and trying things even when stuff doesn’t work the first time.”
A key skill gained from being a part of robotics is learning how to work with others. Team dynamics are such that each team member is placed in a role — such as builder or programmer — that they are strongest in. Coordinating the roles together equates to a better performance at competition.
“It’s really playing to what your strengths are because it wouldn’t make sense for me to be building and (Klaehn) to be doing something else, when obviously we excel in [other] areas,” said Voortmann who programs for her group.
Before heading to state, both groups are making final adjustments and rebuilds.
“I’m about done. I finished yesterday,” said Faver. “We just need to work on autonomous code and get that all working.”
Clear Lake robotics groups Nice n’ Crispy and The Loco Oompa Loompas will be competing at state in Waukee.
Abby Koch
Bowman said the groups heading to state are feeling more excited than nervous thanks to the previous competition shaking off the nerves. He added that the groups will go up against 32 teams.
“I hope they’re competitive. I hope they perform to the best of their robots’ and their abilities,” Bowman said.
“Robotics helps a lot with real world experiences and it helps when you grow up and try to get a job,” Klaehn said. “It helps a ton when you can completely design something from scratch and never have to use a manual.”
Abby covers education and entertainment for the Globe Gazette. Follow her on Twitter at @MkayAbby. Email her at [email protected]
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