Updated: CVHS Takes 9th Place in All of Southern California at Robotics Competition

Update:  took ninth in the state!

The Long Beach Convention Center filled with white smoke and screaming students Friday as a robot from the Los Angeles Regional 2011 FIRST Robotics Competition blew its limit and sparked itself out on the game floor.

Crescenta Valley High School and were 2 of 64 schools to participate in the annual competition. Teams, made up of students from robotics and engineering classes or clubs, are given six weeks to design, construct, program, and test their robots before the event. Kits are provided to the schools, along with a video showing the competition game, but students, guided by mentors and faculty, must do all the work. 

“It’s going pretty well,” said student Amalia Hakobyan of Clark. “The building is harder than the competition.

This year’s “Logo Motion” game required robots to maneuver a 27 by 54 foot “field” while blocking and racing one another. Schools played in competing alliances each consisting of three robots, controlled by students using joysticks from behind a clear, safety partition. Alliances competed to hang as many plastic, inflated shapes as they could on to pegs set above the field during a two minute and 15 second match. The higher a team hung a shape, the more points their alliance received. 

Each match started with a 15 second "Autonomous Period "during which robots had been programmed to fetch and place a ring on their own. If successful, extra points were awarded.

The match ended with robots deploying mini-bots that raced to the top of vertical poles set on the field. Each mini-bot that reached the top of its pole earned bonus points for the team.

The competition was intense, with robots fighting for shapes and position, sometimes littering the field with metal bits. An energetic crowd filled the stands while students clustered along the sidelines cheering for their alliance and their own robots. Furry school mascots showed their support while rock music pumped up the vibe, far more like a Staples Center sporting event than a high school science fair.

Behind the scenes, teams set up in a pit area where students worked like NASCAR crews on the their robots. Surrounded by tool chests and banners, teams used their spaces to fine-tune and repair their robots, problem-solve, and just hang out. Safety goggles were mandatory and signed out on an honor system to visitors.

The CVHS Falcon Robotics team felt that their robot, dubbed Julia after the team’s project manager Julian, worked reliably and was doing what they needed it to do. The team was relaxed and happy while in the pit area, but energetic when cheering for their robot and alliance on the game floor.

“It’s so exciting,” said CVHS student Amnisha Chacko of the competition while weaving together glow lights to wear as flair.

Clark, easily spotted in bright pink and green, hovered around their robot in the pit. Nicknamed "Reptar,"the robot suffered a bent axle that required replacing the shaft. The team successfully fixed the robot and sent it back out into competition without missing a beat.

Will Spurgeon, a Clark student and driver of the robot, noted that last year’s robot couldn’t turn, an improvement that was brought to Reptar. “It gets easier the more you do it,” he said about controlling the robot. “There’s not a lot of practice matches and a little driving practice.”

But it wasn’t just about the competition. Teams traded buttons, bracelets, and t-shirts. “Gracious professionalism” is a major part of FIRST’s philosophy, with a board set up in the pit area for teams to post what good deeds they’ve witnessed, such as the sharing of tools, parts, and knowledge. Wild applause filled the space when the previously smoking robot rose from the ashes and scored heavily in its match.

Aimee Yeghuayan, a CVHS student, said that her favorite part of the competition was “being able to become friends with the other teams.” CVHS and Clark students could be seen talking and working with other teams throughout the pit area.

Greg Neat, an advisor for the Falkon team, noted, “the kids are really good. They work well together.”

The FIRST Robotics Competition is part of NASA’s Robotics Alliance Project, which aims to encourage student interest in study and careers in robotic systems, and offers scholarships and college funding opportunities. Jet Propulsion Laboratories sponsors 11 teams, including CVHS and Clark.

Winning teams will be announced Saturday night, and they will go on to compete in the FIRST Championships to be held April 27 – 30 in St. Louis.