Local robotics team RCXRM, featuring Kiel Strang and Ryden Custance, has qualified to compete in the FIRST World Robotics Championship for an incredible third year in a row.
Last weekend the team won the Idaho State Championship, which earned them an invitation to the World Championship in St. Louis in April. The top 100 teams in the world will compete, and RCXRM is one of only four Canadian teams to qualify.
During the final rounds in Idaho, RCXRM partnered with teams from Washington and Montana to defeat an equally strong alliance from Washington and Idaho. Each robot on the field was unique, as each team approached this year's game a bit differently. Some focused on scoring, others on defence, so it was interesting to see how the alliance partners complemented each other when they competed two on two against the other alliance. The teams of RCXRM, Cyber Daze and Enterprise defeated Swerve, Intelligent Design and B-Team in two straight matches to win the championship.
RCXRM competed in three events this season, in B.C., Washington and Idaho all with great success. The Pacific Northwest is a hotbed for robotics and technology education, and the level of competition in this region is among the highest in the world. Many teams are sponsored and mentored by high-tech firms such as Boeing and Microsoft, so it is incredible that a small-town team working in their living room can compete on this level.
The program that RCXRM participates in is called FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. FIRST provides an incredible opportunity to develop skills in science, engineering, communication and teamwork, with programs for youth from five to 18 that reach 250,000 students worldwide. Teams spend months designing, building and programming robots to perform very specific tasks. They compete at tournaments complete with referees in striped shirts and play-by-play announcing. The top teams from each division are invited to the world championship.
The game RCXRM is playing this year is called "Get Over It." The robots must be able to navigate terrain that includes cliffs, mountains and balancing bridges. The game pieces are batons - lengths of PVC pipe placed in dispensers around the field. The dispensers are mounted at three different heights, and just to make things interesting, each team's dispensers are on the opposite side of the field from their start position. Robots score points by putting batons into rolling goals, and also by balancing on the bridges at the end of a match.
The result is a game that includes lots of robot interaction and sometimes damage. A big part of the challenge is making your robot sturdy enough to survive the full day of play, as there is minimal time between matches to make repairs. The first 40 seconds of each match are known as the autonomous period, where each robot is controlled solely by pre-programmed instructions and sensor readings. This is followed by a two-minute tele-op period where the robots are remotely controlled.
Now comes the hardest part of the season for RCXRM - fund-raising. The team needs to raise money to cover the $1,000 entry fee and to purchase replacement parts.
"The robot requires a complete overhaul to replace motors and electronics that are worn out after a season of rough play," Kiel said. "Any support from the community is greatly appreciated."
The team will be at Sunnycrest Mall in Gibsons this Saturday, Feb. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. giving demonstrations and soliciting donations. Donations can also be made to RCXRM's account at the Sunshine Coast Credit Union. For more information, email [email protected] or call 604-885-6472.
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