A St. Joseph High School robotics team that created a robot that could climb took the top prize at the Central Alberta FIRST Tech Challenge held at Red Deer Polytechnic on Dec 17.
St. Joseph instructor Phoebe Arcilla, who teaches robotics and computer science, said the Kiwi team built a robot that could hang from a bar and climb so it was very successful in accomplishing one of the technical tasks in the competition.
She said the Kiwi team also impressed engineers who judged the teams on their planning, development and their final robot and received the Inspire Award for their team work and professionalism.
FIRST Tech Challenge is a competition that teaches students to think like engineers. The teams design, build, and program robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams.
Kiwi Team chose to partner at the competition with Alliance Team 4169 from Ecole Secondaire Lacombe Composite High School which helped to solidify Kiwi’s success, she added.
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This was the first For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Tech Challenge for Central Alberta. Seven teams competed including two from Ecole Secondaire Lindsay Thurber High School, two from Lacombe Composite and three from St. Joseph.
The Alberta championship will be held in March at St. Joseph High School where 32 teams from across the province will compete.
Arcilla said interest in robotics is growing in Central Alberta among students which will hopefully lead them to Red Deer Polytechnic where they can study mechanical engineering and technology.
“Kids love (robots). It really has piqued their interest. It inspires them to be creative in a more useful way,” Arcilla said.
Each team goes through a build season that starts in September. They design their robots using drawings, sketches, and computer aided design software. The teams build their robots from kits and sometimes from scratch from robot parts companies such as REV Robotics, GOBuilda and Studica Canada.
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The Kiwi team won the following awards:
• 1st place Winning Alliance Captain.
• Inspire Award (based on outstanding interview by judges and overall performance).
• 2nd place, Design Award.
• 2nd place, Innovation Award.
Kiwi team members include Kaleb Fuller, Gr. 12; Anastasiya Putnina, Gr. 11; Joanah Parafina, Gr. 10; Braedon Leslie, Gr. 10; Steven Sapong, Gr. 10; and Stephanie Paje, Gr. 10.
The Bot-Lobster team, also from St. Joseph, won the 1st place Innovation Award. The team includes; Nolan Williams, Gr. 12; Cameron Peddle, Gr. 12; Nicholas Olson, Gr. 12; Steven Penner, Gr. 12; and Kaleb Larouche, Gr. 11.
The Doug team, from St. Joseph’s, earned accolades for 2nd place Think Award. Members include Aidan Dubois, Gr. 12; Emmett Pengelly Gr. 12; Eric Albanes, Gr. 11; and Dominik McGregor, Gr. 11.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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