Aquidneck Island 4-H Club Unveils Latest Robot Entry for FIRST Regional Competition

“Learn by Doing” is the motto that drives members of the Aquidneck Island Robotics 4-H Club (AIR).

That drive and determination was operating in high gear over the winter, as AIR showed off the club's latest robotics creation. Members held an unveiling celebration on Monday at the Undersea Collaborative and Technical Outreach Center in Middletown. Dubbed Striker Mk II, the robot is also the club's entry into the FIRST Robotics Regional Competition in New Hampshire in March.

AIR's members include high school students from Middletown, Portsmouth and Newport. The FIRST Robotics Competition is an academic sport, often luring those students who find engineering and research disciplines enjoyable and rewarding, or who are considering these areas for future careers. The sponsoring organization is "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," better known as FIRST among robotics competitors.

AIR also brings together local industry professionals with students as a mentorship program that integrates math, science and technology disciplines and simulates real-world working conditions.

Rick Blight is the overall leader of AIR and the project manager for Striker Mk II. He has been involved in robotics on Aquidneck Island in one form or another for eleven years.

Blight works for Genera Physics Corp. in Middletown in the power lab testing submarine equipment. He credits his experiences to his success today.

“If it wasn’t for robotics I wouldn’t be here today, working in the field I’m in,” he said.

Tom Frank has been assisting as a mentor since 1995. He sees first-hand how robotics clubs work.

“I enjoy seeing the kids appreciate all the work and technology that makes things possible. They are so excited knowing they are able to do it themselves,” Frank said.

Kadie Mercier, a junior mentor, finds herself as one of the few females in the club dominated by males. She attends Bristol Community College in Fall River Massachusetts in the mechanical engineering program and plans to attend Worcester Polytechnical Institute. “I’ve always loved math and science since I can remember so I feel comfortable. This is a great fit for me,” Mercier said. 

In designing and building Striker Mk II, the club had only six weeks to complete the robot, per FIRST rules. The members met everyday including weekends, with subcommittees formed to complete the robot at various project stages of the mechanical, electronic and "spirit" components of design.

Striker Mk II must play a game called LOGO MOTION in which it picks up plastic shapes and hangs them in a particular order on a stand. At the end, the larger robot deploys a minirobot to climb a small pole. This game is played between two teams in FRC competition on a 27’ x 54’ field.

Worldwide, FIRST has an estimated 2,000 teams competing , with most in the United States. There are about 100 teams across the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Israel. FIRST has awarded over $12 million in scholarships to members.

There are three other completive groups besides FRC. There is the Junior FIRST LEGO League for ages 6-9; FIRST LEGO League Grades 4-8; FIRST TECH Challenge grades 9-12.

Closer to home the AIR Club has 160 members representing 29 different schools throughout Rhode Island. The club was started about two years ago but, had been preceded by other robotics clubs at the three local high schools here on the Island over the years.

The 4-H Club is traditionally known as an agricultural organization and will continue to be, but to stay relative in today’s world, it added the technology aspect to its mission, club organizers explained.

The first regional robotics competition will take place in Manchester, New Hampshire in March.

Download the movie

Download the movie