The Rancho Dominguez Robotics Team went against 21 other teams in the Roosevelt High School Robotics Competition, and placed in 8th place. They won first with the winning alliance overall as a backup team. The team had limited time but diligently found ways to improve their robot to meet the requirements of this year’s competition. It’s a great achievement and showed off our Robotics Club’s abilities and skills.
Ms. Moulton, science teacher and Robotics Club advisor, said, “Every year Robotics Club builds a robot to take on a challenge announced in September. This year’s challenge was very difficult; our robot needed to be very short and very tall at the same time to move around an obstacle. It’s also supposed to launch a paper airplane over a barrier but also make it land not too far.”
The most challenging part of constructing the robot for the team was the amount of time they were given to build it while considering all of the requirements.
Arturo Torres, senior, said, “It wasn’t overwhelming but making the robot actually functional was a challenge. We had to redesign it over and over again.”
When going into the competition, Torres felt confident in their team’s robot and placement, getting at least a top five in placements.
“After the competition, I was satisfied; we did the best we could and tried our best. Still managing to get 8th place, even with bad luck on our side, I see that as a win. I felt good after and it was a great experience. I loved playing against so many great teams and seeing their robots,” he said.
Robotics Club is open for members to join anytime, generally requiring an interview for good synergy within the team.
“Many of our current members came to us without any prior robotics or engineering experience and we teach them as they go, so it’s not like people need the experience,” said Ms. Moulton.
Congratulations to our Robotics Team for working hard this year and showing off your skills. If you’re interested in participating with Robotics Club, Ms. Moulton can be found in her classroom D415.
