RLCC Robotics team competes at Robotics Vex State Qualifier
Tue, 01/31/2017 - 10:47am
admin
By:
Michael Illies, RLCC Robotics coach
Red Lake County Central High School Robotics class competed in the Northland Community and Technical College Pioneers Robotics Vex State Qualifier in Thief River Falls on Saturday, January 14th. Fifty teams were present and competition was fierce. This is the first year for the Robotics class at RLCC and their first qualifier competition. The team learned much from seeing other robots and talking to other teams from the area.
The RLCC Mustangs robot started out strong, but eventually lost out to faster, more agile robots from more experienced teams. We were eliminated during the qualifications round, but a team that qualified for the quarter finals saw strength in our robot design that they believed was good enough to help them win the championship. We were maneuverable and had a strong claw design. As a result, our team, which expected they were done for the day, was actually chosen to be part of the finals! It was a surprise and honor to be chosen to be part of that qualifying team. In the end, we were eliminated, but to quote one of our team members, “We are going to crush them next time!”
The students gained much experience in the designing and building of a machine to complete a specific task. The engineering concepts and skills learned were evident. The students had a great time and expect to be back next time, bigger and better than ever.
Students participating in the competition from RLCC’s Robotics class were Kyle Gagner, Austin Erlandson, Dylan Gustafson, Nick Plante, Deidra Walton, Angel Auman, and Brandon Lee. RLCC’s Robotics class is taught by Mr. Michael Illies.