VEX Robotics

11/15/2023

Recently, robotics students gathered in the halls for a competition to find who made the fastest robot. Students had to use VEX Robotics materials to make a rubber band car to race against other students. Three weeks is all they had to complete this challenge and get their machines to race for the big day.

This wasn’t without challenge though; many teams faced issues and complications along the way that they had to resolve as a team. “[Students] had a lot of challenges getting them to work… [and] getting them to go in a straight line for 20 feet,” said Mr. Tysor, “and they were only allowed [to make] one 3D printed part.” Many students had issues with their machine veering off to one side of the track, which would disqualify them during the competition. “Ours kept having a problem veering off to the left whenever we started, and we never really found out why,” said one robotics student. 

The students were also challenged with team coordination, problem-solving, and blueprinting their build. Mr. Tysor said, “Many of [the students] had a plan for their build, but trying to get it past a blueprint was a struggle.” Most teams were able to finish with a product they were happy with in the end though, with plenty being proud of what they were able to put together in a fairly short time frame. 

The robotics class plans to have many more competitions similar to this throughout the year, working with students and allowing them to build their engineering skills. A big part of the robotics program is getting students ready for a future career, and these competitions help them build these abilities in a fun and engaging way. Next, the students are working on “Hero-Bots”, robots built to achieve tasks given to them with similar rules to this competition. The students are already beginning to build these, so get ready to see them in action!

Photos By Jayden Stilley & Za'ron Lee