Schools
YHS Robotics Club Takes on Basketball
Foximus Prime building a robot that can shoot a basketball.
Foximus Prime has transformed from an experiment with 18 high school students into to building not one, but two robots this academic year.
The l robotics club, whose name is based on the Transformers character Optimus Prime, just finished its fourth of six weeks to build a robot for competition. The robot needs to complete a series of tasks, such as shooting a basketball and crossing a teeter-totter.
Aside from building a robot, the team also is building a network of community mentors and smaller committees, the team’s lead mentor, Tracey Hosey, said.
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“Last year was all about survival,” Hosey said. “This year has been a whole new ball game.”
She is looking for local businesses to sponsor the team, and has partnered with a mechanical engineer, an electrical engineer, roofer and other adults specialists who work directly with students.
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“Our biggest problem this year has been finding a machine shop to work with us,” Hosey said. “That has been a struggle.”
The students themselves have split into committees, including a programming committee, a group that will practice driving the robot, a safety committee and – of course – a party committee.
The team’s growth has challenged students to solve problems in groups and advocate for their ideas, but it’s also allowed students who aren’t interested in robotics itself to get involved, Hosey said.
At the end of the six-week build period, the students will “bag and tag” the robot in accordance with rules set by U.S. First that ensure all teams have the same amount of time to build their robot.
Yorkville students will continue to work on a second robot that won’t go to competition so they can work out any bugs or problems that remain. They’ll have a “pit day” before competition to make those changes on the competition robot.
For information on sponsoring the team through a financial donation, contact Hosey at THosey@y115.org.
Editor's note: Students on Foximus Prime have decided to blog about the team’s progress on Yorkville Patch, so check back next week for their first post.
