The Forsyth Central High School team from Cumming, GA remains strong as it emerged from the Georgia FIRST Robotics competition last week as a qualifier for the World Championships in St. Louis at the end of April. In all, a record 13 teams from Georgia will be attending the 2016 World Championship event.
Team OTTO
Team OTTO, named after their sponsor AutomationDirect, impressed the judges at the State Competition by adding a “climbing mechanism” to their robot. This new arm/wench assembly enabled the team to excel at an additional game challenge at the end of each match when a robot could earn extra points by scaling the opposition’s tower wall. After adding the mechanism and testing it in the field, OTTO the robot proved its skills and provided extra points for the team. It was this performance, coupled with earning the Quality Award (which Team OTTO did at every event this year), that qualified Team OTTO for the World Championship.
FIRST Robotics
FIRST Robotics Competitions are held across the country and “combine the excitement of sports with the rigors of science and technology,” according to its website. The mission of the organization is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders. This is accomplished through mentor-based programs that not only build technical skills but also offer the opportunity for the students to learn communication, leadership, and how to work with others.
The World Championship event is the final chapter of this fast-paced competition that started in January. Teams had only six weeks to put together their robot based on this year’s competition game. In that time, Team OTTO had to build, test, and refine their robot as well as work together to create their brand, and identify adult mentors and financial sponsors. For the team, this final phase of the journey is the culmination of hard work, team building, and fun. Team OTTO has much to be proud of so far and will bring home even more experience and skills after the World Championship – and maybe even a few more trophies!
To learn more about Georgia FIRST Robotics, go to: www.gafirst.org
To learn more about AutomationDirect.com, go to: about.automationdirect.com