MVHS Spartans Robotics, also known as FRC Team 971, drove down to Port Hueneme, Calif. to join 52 other teams from around the world for the Ventura County Regional, which took place from March 6 to March 9. Spartan Robotics took second place after losing the championship round against a team from Denmark, Patrick Murphy, the robotics club advisor, said.
In competitions, robots were tasked with picking up PVC pipes, or “coral,” and large rubber balls called “algae,” and placing them in a certain configuration to look like a full coral and earn points, junior Leonardo Colli said. Additionally, robots could climb the “cage”— a hanging metal cage-like box — to score extra points at the end of the match, Colli said.
In the later rounds of the competition, the top eight teams after qualifying rounds become captains, and are each allowed to select two other teams to form an alliance, he said. Spartans Robotics were seeded seventh on the first day, putting them in a captain position, Colli said.
Spartans Robotics has many different teams throughout the competition: the strategy team, who decide the team strategy and note potential alliance members; the ace team, who spot weaknesses in alliance members and makes sure they are addressed; and a drive team, which operates the robot during the competition.
“Our scouting [strategy] team picked the two other teams for our alliance, and that was a big reason for our success,” Murphy said.
At the competition, Spartans faced some trouble in software, particularly in the first 15 to 20 seconds of their qualifying rounds, where the robot must operate fully automatically, Colli said. Regarding this hiccup, Murphy said that the Spartans had a little breakdown, but that their strong coding team got it ironed out over time. Additionally, the Spartans needed to make a last minute adjustment to a part of the robot’s climbing mechanism, Colli said.
The Spartans upset the number three alliance with a team from Armenia and the number two alliance in the semifinals, putting them into the championship round, Murphy said.
In the championship, Spartans were outscored by a quicker robot, but they hope to improve efficiency in their robot in the future, Colli said.
“Looking at other teams, people who had a lighter intake or end effector, which holds the game pieces, did a lot better.” Colli said. “So we probably want to lighten [the robot] a lot and change the design.”
Murphy said he’s impressed with the volunteers, parents, teachers, and students. The kids have been working hard, and their robot has been competing well, so they plan not to add too many things, he said.
“They put a ton of time in.” Murphy said. “It’s amazing how much time they spend on this, and we’re seeing the results right now. I know all the mentors are extremely proud of the team and the volunteers [are] extremely proud [too].”
