S.E. student robot builders shoot; score!
By DAVID F. ASHTON
By DAVID F. ASHTON
FRC Team 1432’s team The operator shoots a basketball – all by remote control. (Photo by David F. Ashton)
for THE BEE
It’s been a struggle for mentors and friends of FIRST Robotic Competition (FRC) Team 1432, known as “Mahr’s Metal Beavers”, to keep the robot-building club together – after being turned out of their eight-year home at Franklin High School in 2011.
But, thanks to the workspace and clubhouse provided by the Ivanhoe Lodge, Knights of Pythias, in Lents, and their fiscal sponsors, the Southeast Portland Rotary Club, the Metal Beavers continue to carry on.
Against all odds, again this year, the 12-member team successfully competed at the 8th Annual FIRST Autodesk Regional competition in Memorial Coliseum on March 9-10 against 65 other teams.
In the pit area, team member William Atkinson – a senior at Cleveland High School – explained how the team’s mechanics were busy testing the belts that drive the systems, and resetting a driving motor.
In this year’s FIRST competition, all the teams were tasked to design and build robots that would pick up and shoot basketballs through hoops at different heights, and then balance on a rocking ramp, Atkinson said.
“Thanks to Autodesk for donating us a new computer, for the first year we were able to design our entire robot using Computer Aided Design. And, we’ve incorporated innovative ideas – like using a timing belt instead of gears. This year, our robot really works – we can drive it, and it fires basketballs like we designed it to do.
“It’s more than building robots,” Atkinson continued. “The idea is to train students in math, science, and engineering skills that we can use in the future. And, doing this creates community within the group.”
As a four-year member of FRC Team 1432, Atkinson says the bonds that have been created are not easily broken. “Even though the people I’ve worked with have graduated and moved on, I still talk with them regularly. Overall it’s a very good thing.”
Deb Mumm-Hill, the FIRST Robotics Pacific Northwest Director, smiled when asked about the “Metal Beavers”.
“They’re an amazing team,” Mumm-Hill told THE BEE. “Thanks to dedicated families, they’ve been able to keep this team together, no matter what. They’re able to bring in kids from all over Southeast Portland to learn and work together in a safe environment to build robots.”
Mumm-Hill added, “We’re not really a robotics program – we are a mentoring program. We just use the theme of robotics to help bring together adults to share what they know with young people. The ‘Metal Beavers’ are the epitome of an organization that really knows what mentoring does. They are changing lives, and giving hope to kids who are under-served. Opening a brighter future for them.”While they didn’t “take home the gold” this year, FRC Team 1432’s robot worked every time it took the field, scored points, and helped other teams score on the “cooperation bridge” to bolster their league’s standing.
More than just using their funds to buy computers and robot parts, “Metal Beavers” mentors also provide after-school meals and weekend lunches for team members. “It’s an expensive program,” admitted Rebecca LohKamp. “This means we’re always fundraising, and we really appreciate the help of our corporate sponsors – and that of our friends in the community.”
