Hudson Robotics
Kristen Ferrara
The Hudson Robotics Team successfully competed at the Robot Remix 2016 in Houston on Saturday October 22, clutching second place after their first race and remaining among top contenders until the end.
“We did so well; I was so proud of the students,” said Gayle Jones, robotics sponsor. “There was no other school that was about our size. There was nobody from East Texas there; it was all big time school districts, and we did really well.”
The robotics team used the same robot and the same setup as they did at their last competition in April.
“The robots themselves are designed to be capable to run over various obstacles: walls, uneven terrain, and even a drawbridge and portcullis (giant door) are a few of these. They also need to shoot balls (boulders) into towers to score points,” said Thien Nguyen, who acted as Strategy Captain in the Remix 2016. “Our particular robot just so happens to be a faster, sturdier obstacle crosser who can score consistently in lower goals; some other robots are engineered to shoot higher goals, similar to a basketball player.”
The dependability of their robot and skills are not the only items which remained consistent; the robotics team continued to exercise good sportsmanship, a trademark of the competition.
Nguyen claimed, “As for team relations, there's definitely a lot of team involvement. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), the organization over these competitions, goes by a motto known simply as ‘gracious professionalism,’ basically meaning that while winning is fun, the competition is also an open environment that people you might have never met before can instantly become your allies on the field and friends after competition. Every team embraces this gracious professionalism with every other team, which makes FIRST robotics an experience like no other.”
This experience is what inspires students, like Renee George, to fundraise, secure sponsorships, and publicize the program.
George said, “Our goal is to provide students with a healthy, hands on learning environment which is challenging but still loads of fun. We aim to have every student come out of the program knowing they ‘got their money's worth.’ If every student regards their experience as the best time they've ever had working with the STEM field, we consider our efforts as a job well done!”
The team hopes to do well in the next phase of their season: the Lone Star Regional.
“The main one [competition] robotics goes to, the Lone Star Regional in Houston, is a three-day event in which teams from all over the area (as far as Mexico) compete for chances to go to the World competition,” said Nguyen. “Basically, day 1 is practice rounds, qualification rounds, and overall robot inspection checkoffs. Pretty much the preliminary work before the real competition starts.Day 2 is more qualifier matches, which determine finalists who will draft other teams to basically "playoff" in the finals. Day 3 is playoffs in which the top 8 teams draft other teams to play for the top spot of glory and fame and a seat at the world competition.”
The robotics team encourages anyone interested to become involved in some form, as the competitions are fun and challenging while they also engender a friendly environment.
George said, “All students, please, please, consider our team! We offer the most challenging experience you've ever had. We have the thrill of competition without the cut-throat tendencies of conventional sports. Also, now that all of the fields in the science and engineering realm are in vogue, this team will equip you with the knowledge you need to excel in our technology-driven world.”
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