Hazelwood West Shrapnel Sergeants adapt on the fly

The Hazelwood West Shrapnel Sergeants competed in the FIRST Tech Competitions (FTC) on Thursday, looking to show off their technological and robotic know-how.

Cory Cook, who founded the program three years ago, coaches the team.

“I wanting something to challenge the kids and let them push the envelope, and FIRST is exactly the kind of group that promotes that kind of thinking,” Cook said.

The day was filled with ups and downs for the team when their robot encountered a series of setbacks during competition.

“We were having problems communicating with the robot,” junior Alex Hoeft said. “The issue is with motor control. The arm is turning without being told to, and it thinks it’s in the wrong place and because of these sudden movements the elbow keeps blowing itself out.”

The team spent much of the day troubleshooting and rewriting the code to operate the robot’s arm. FIRST techs had also lent a hand throughout the day, as well as reviewing the new code to make sure it meets and remains fair to the competition’s standards.

“These kids just keep plugging along no matter what,” Cook said while the team worked on readying the robot for the last match of the day. “No matter what the obstacle, our team has been able to overcome and if not still come out better and stronger.”

The team is very proud of the arm they designed for the robot. Cook saw it as their biggest challenge, but also their biggest success as they continue to tamper and evolve it even during competition.

“We’re really pushing the envelope with this,” Hoeft said.

As the Shrapnel Sergeants headed into one of the last FTC matches of the day, they were still tinkering with the arm to make sure their robot could properly compete. It paid, with the team ending the day on a positive note with victory alongside their blue alliance.

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