A team representing Apollo High School qualified for the VEX Robotics State Championship with an outstanding showing at a tournament in Hopkinsville on Dec. 8.
The team of senior Dakota Brown, sophomore Jackson Lindsey and juniors Sara Goatee and Andrew Alban earned the Design Award, which is presented to the team with the best interview, best design of robot and best documented design process in an engineering journal.
“This was truly a collaborative effort in terms of artistic talent, mechanical talent and programming talent,” said varsity robotics coach Jonathan Leohr.
In describing the requirements of the competition and his team’s entry, Leohr said, “Collectively the students designed, built and programmed their robot within the parameters of the competition. This year, the task is to drive around, pick up game elements, place them on poles, and shoot balls at flags. It even includes playing ‘King of the Hill’ at the end of each round, where the robots fight to climb up on a platform in the center of the field. This particular group used a reverse four bar lift for lifting caps up high and designed a single flywheel ball-launching mechanism that utilized a conveyor belt transport system to successfully load the ball in the flywheel system. This made their design unique, due to being able to score in all ways possible.”
Additional upcoming state-qualifier tournament locations and dates are Ohio County High School on Jan. 12, and Apollo High School on Feb. 16.
Leohr, who is also the AHS school technology coordinator and engineering/computer science teacher, said, “I’m very proud of this team and can’t wait to get more of our teams qualified and to compete at the state championship in March.”
According to the VEX Robotics website ( https://www.vexrobotics.com/ ), “The world faces an unprecedented need for new innovators, thinkers and problem-solving leaders. Our goal is to create engaging, affordable and powerful solutions that immerse students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) through the excitement of building and programming robots.”
