Robotics Wins States!

University School’s US Robotics team’s alliance captured the state championship with a final score of 414 - 404 at the FIRST Tech Challenge State Championship on Feb. 18 in Cincinnati. FIRST Tech Challenge is the largest robotics competition in the world, with more than 91,000 high school students competing at various levels on 3,650 robotics teams world-wide.

 

At the state meet, US Robotics competed against 35 teams in Ohio, and, after five qualifying matches, finished fifth. The top four teams created three-team alliances to compete in the finals. US Robotics was picked first by the highest rated team to join its alliance. The three teams on the winning alliance, including US Robotics, move on to the FIRST Tech regional competition, where 71 teams will compete in Iowa next month. Winners of the regional contests compete at the international competitions in April.

 

“US Robotics is a dedicated group of students and they are excited to advance in the competition,” said Coach Peter Sweeney. He and faculty colleague Rex Brodie created the Robotics Club at University School four years ago, and the club began building robots. Three years ago, the Club formed the robotics team and began competing at FIRST Tech Challenge. In 2017, the team won the Design Award at the state level; and in 2018, the team won the Design Award and the Control Award at the qualifier contests. In 2016 and 2017, the team advanced to the state level. This year marks the first time US Robotics will advance past the state level to the regional contest.

 

Robotics contests are about more than building robots, Coach Sweeney said, “These students are learning real-world design skills, problem-solving techniques, collaboration, engineering, and CAD. The competition atmosphere is similar to an athletic contest, but instead the fans are cheering for the math and science skills of their team.” The team practices daily after school in a competition season that lasts from September through February or longer.

  

The 2018 US Robotics team members are: seniors Andrew Heater and Michael Letterio, juniors Maxim Borsch, Maheep Brar, Reed Chen, Daniel Pichkar and Dylan Siegler, sophomores Tyler Nettis and Ben Wyant, and freshmen Vincent Chen, Jay Chiang, Gary Huang, Noah Mitchell and Zihao Qing. Drivers, who control the robot, are Dylan Siegler, Michael Letterio, and Daniel Pichkar.

 

Coaches Sweeney and Brodie have been instrumental in advancing the Upper School’s computer science and arts technology programs. Brodie directs the Manual Arts and Design Center and teaches robotics and technical design courses. Sweeney teaches computer science courses, including AP Computer Science and two post AP courses: Data Structures and Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.

 

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) holds state, regional and international competitions in robotics and Lego League for 7^th to 12^th graders. It was founded in 1989 with a mission to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. Its goal is to encourage students to pursue education and careers in STEM-related fields, inspire them to become leaders and innovators, and enhance their 21^st century work-life skills.