Hauppauge Robotics Team achieved the “Excellence in Engineering Award” and took 7th place at the Annual FIRST® Robotics Competition at Hofstra University this past March. The team also will be competing nationally in St. Louis later this month. The “Excellence in Engineering Award” recognized the robot that was designed and built with “an elegant and advantageous machine feature.” Hauppauge Robotics Team’s robot was designed with a “swerve drive” system where all drive wheels are independently driven and steered, thereby enabling the robot to drive in any direction and face in any direction separately.
A total of 51 teams – including teams from Canada, Brazil and Israel – competed in the Hofstra competition. The teams were given six weeks to design and produce their robot prior to the competition. The Hauppauge Robotics Team was tasked with designing a robot to move and stack recyclable materials around obstacles on a field designed by FIRST® Robotics. Production of the robot required computer coding, design and production mechanics, which the team developed under the supervision of their dedicated Teachers and Club Advisers Christopher Dowd and Scott Kraft and a group of dedicated, skilled mentors.
