Goodrich – On a loft level above the Goodrich High School gym, the Martian
robotics team huddles around a machine that looks a little like a crane.
Tools in hand, they fine-tune their robot for the Great Lakes Regional competition.
The competition, scheduled to begin March 11 on the campus of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Mich., is held by FIRST (For Inspiration
and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics, a program which
partners students, teachers, communities, corporations, and government in
contests geared toward expanding technological horizons. And having fun.
‘It’s a good time,? said Goodrich High School freshman Tim Burr.
‘We learn a lot here, a lot goes on. I’ve made some friends just in the few months I’ve been here.?
How does a FIRST Robotics competition work?
First, a team is put together. The Martian team is comprised of Goodrich
High School students, parents, and volunteers, as well as experts from
DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, and Burkland Textron of Atlas Township.
Next, FIRST Robotics issues a box of parts and the same challenge to each
team: Design a robot programmed for certain tasks. Each team has six weeks
to put their robot together.
At the competition, the robot will join its human teammates on a specially
designed playing field in a custom-created athletic game. To the sound of
blaring music and a cheering crowd, robotic and human players scoot rubber
balls into goals, strategically place balls onto the top of goalposts, and
score extra points if the robot can do a pull-up from a bar at the end of
the round. During some of the game, robots will complete pre-programmed sequences on their own.
‘It’s amazing,? said Martian team leader Pat Major, who’s hosted the robot assembly in his garage prior to the team obtaining space in the high school,
space which is also home to seven first-place trophies earned last year by
the team. After earning international recognition in last year’s competition, the Martian team is now featured on the FIRST brochure and a GM
poster.
The program is an outstanding opportunity for students to ‘learn from
professionals directly,? said Major.
‘It’s the best opportunity we have to learn in our school,? said sophomore
Jameson Carbary, who demonstrated a computer animation program to be
submitted to FIRST. ‘It’s the only place to get engineering and programming
science.?
While some teams assign names to each robot, Goodrich has stuck with one
name over the years for each technological teammate: ‘My Favorite Robot.?
The name is taken from the 1999 movie, ‘My Favorite Martian,? said Goodrich
High School staff sponsor Clint Densham.
After the March competition, the Martians and ‘My Favorite Robot? will also compete in Duluth, Mn. GrandRaids,Mich.,andAtlanta.