Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier
Los Altos High robotics team members, from left, Lynne Maloney, Andrew Tseng and Scott Burger work on building the elevator for the robot they will enter in the For Inspirational and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics Competition, a national engineering competition.
Town Crier Staff Writer
There wasn't a screw or bolt left unturned in the wood shop at Egan Intermediate School last week where students worked against the clock to put together a robot design they have kept secret for the past five weeks.
Constructed from wood and aluminum scraps and a motor from a box of miscellaneous parts, the nearly completed robot featured an elevator that can raise up three and a half feet, six tank-like wheels designed to grip inclines and the capability to pick up and move objects.
The 20-member robotics team from Los Altos High School had six weeks to brainstorm, design, construct and test their robot for inclusion in the For Inspirational and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics Competition - a national engineering contest that requires students to build a functional robot capable of performing specific tasks for competition in a game described in the contest rules.
Team captain Edward Liou said the idea of the contest is to encourage students to enter the engineering field and "show that no project is too big or out of reach."
The Los Altos senior said much of the robot's construction has been based on the theory of trial and error.
"We're proud. Our robot is 100 percent student made. Some teams have professional engineers do most of the work," Liou said. That could explain the three-hour shifts, six days a week, that students have spent in the wood shop over the past five weeks.
As part of this year's game, the robot must be able to climb a platform, pick up and raise a pillow eight feet into the air and prevent other robots from invading its platform area. Each activity is worth points, Liou said. The last robot remaining on the platform wins.
The restrictions: Students may only spend a fixed amount on parts and the robot must weigh no more than 130 pounds. Liou said the organization sends a starter kit of supplies, but everything else must be made from scratch. Teams are encouraged to partner with professional engineers, he said.
Liou said the team is broken into four subcommittees: the animation subcommittee, which is responsible for using AutoCAD to generate the robot's blueprints; the electronics subcommittee, which designed and constructed the remote controls; the base subcommittee; and the elevator subcommittee.
Huong Tram, a member of the elevator subcommittee, said she joined the robotics team last year and again this year because, "I like taking things apart." Tram admitted that her interest in taking apart and reassembling her family's stereo and telephone has sometimes landed her in trouble with her parents, but has proved to be an asset for the team.
Tram was working on the robot's wheel design the day of this interview. She experimented with using metal screws as gripping devices on the wheels before deciding to use blocks, which were lighter and wouldn't tear the rubber off of the wheel, she explained.
Tram said good construction is key to winning the competition.
"It's how you put it together, not the idea," she said. "There's a billion ideas there (at the competition) that are all pretty good. It's really about how hard your team is willing to work."
The Los Altos team was slated to send their completed robot to Moffett Field next week for the regional competition. If the team wins, the students will be eligible to compete against 250 teams nationwide in Orlando, Fla. The team placed 47th nationally last year.
The robotics team is seeking sponsorships. For more information, call 948-9168.