It took 45 days and more than 2,700 hours of work but FIRST Team 1305 has its robot ready for competition.
The North Bay team unveiled its newest robot at an event held at the Near North School board Friday morning.
The robot and the team members are gearing up for three regional competitions in hopes of once again qualifying for the FIRST World Robotic Competition which takes place in St. Louis in April.
This year’s robotic competitions are called “FIRST Stronghold” which is described as a strategic game where robots compete in a medieval playground.
North Bay’s new robot is called “Sophie.”
Team member and Widdifield Senior Secondary student Benjamin Reevie says the new robot is complex but ready for action as their first regional event takes place on March 9th on the UOIT campus in Oshawa.
“Definitely one of the few unique parts of our robot is, we have 41 wheels on it which I believe is the most we have ever had on a robot,” said the grade 12 student.
“We have 41 wheels on the drive base and that is something we have not seen on a robot, especially this year. Our intake design is also unique, it slides out instead of flipping over the top. A lot of other robots that we’ve seen have an over the bumper style of intake.”
Team mentor Nancy Dewar-Stenning is convinced this will be one of the team’s best creations.
“The thing about a robot is, it’s about getting kids to learn about technology and this has been a tremendous learning opportunity for our students,” she said.
“They have tried out some new things, they’ve had incredible one to one mentorship from professional engineers and people who work in the field. I think this is going to one of our most successful robots.”
Team 1305 has been around for 16 years now. At the end of March the local team will also compete at a regional event helix in North Bay from March 23rd to 26th at Nipissing University.
That event is expected to draw as many as 31 teams from around the country including the local team.