The new Robotics Club has been added to the roster of over thirty clubs offered at Cathedral Catholic this yearl. The group was formed after “a combination of students and parents expressed an interest in robotics,” said science teacher and Robotics Club moderator Mr. Mike Wallace.
The club, consisting of a nearly even amount of individuals from both genders, involves the use of the software engineering notebook, includes its very own designated cheer squad, has assigned members in charge of sponsorship, and is ultimately geared towards, “promoting curiosity and science in the community,” according to Mr. Wallace.
Mr. Wallace also went on to explain that throughout the season, which goes on from the beginning of the school year to the end of February, the group also participates in competitions and scrimmages. In these competitions, groups are assigned to work together with another team to compete against two other teams. The teams strive to reach a common goal designed to fit that season’s theme, which, although not this year, historically is usually focused on sports, such as bowling or basketball. Teams employ the use of robots that they have created to meet the aforementioned in the allotted amount of time. “Teams do not take turns to complete the task once the clock starts running,” said Mr. Wallace, “It is a free for all.”
On December 8th, 2012, the team faced their first competition of the season at Escondido Charter High School, which was one of the competitions needed to qualify for the San Diego Regionals. Competitors were asked to design a robot that could complete a task called “Ring It Up” (robots are designed to place rings on a ring stand). It is almost like the game “Tic Tac Toe,” according to Mr. Wallace. There were a total of six rounds, and points were earned based on how well team members did in each round.
Creating robots requires massive amounts of time, effort, and dedication, which is clearly evident as the team made their own arena in Mr. Wallace’s classroom for strictly practice purposes. Meetings and practices are held in the mornings, at lunch, and after school both on campus and at a machine shop located in Escondido.
“We started our project the last week of September, and we were still working on it the day before the competition,” said Mr. Wallace, “It is an ongoing process as we learn every time we use the robot and make changes to it when necessary. In fact, we just made more modifications to it after our first competition. This competition was just a learning experience. We will be trying to achieve quality at our next competition on February 9th.”
