Robotics team bring their robot to life

Following an impressive showing a seasons ago, the Minneota Robotics team is gearing up for the annual FIRST Robotics Lake Superior Northern Lights Region competition in Duluth from March 7-10.

“We did very well as a team in Duluth last year,” said Darren Clausen, who has been the Minneota Robotics coach for the past seven years.

“However, if you are not in the top eight teams you must be selected by those top eight teams to move on.”

Minneota finished 24th out of 103 teams last year in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science Technology) robotics competition at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.

Teams competing in the FIRST Robotics competition in Duluth are from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and North Dakota. Each team in the regional competition is comprised of three schools that are randomly paired.

The three-school team then competes against another three-school team in a three-on-three point system match. The top eight teams advancing in the competition are then allowed to select other schools to be their teammates.

And because the Minneota contingent is among the smaller groups at the competition, those types of teams are generally not recognized as a top contender and are not selected. Each year, the challenge changes for building robots and the requirements are unveiled in January.

Often, with technology being advanced on a daily basis, these requirements can become quite complex.

There is a 120-pound weight limit on the robots, with the size limit being 55 inches tall, 32 inches long and 28 inches wide. Parts for the robots are shipped by FIRST to the schools in early January, and the brainstorming began among the Minneota team members on the type of robot they will construct.

FIRST is billed as the “Ultimate sport for the mind, combining the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology.” Participating in FIRST allows students access to college scholarships through colleges, universities and corporations who support FIRST.

This year's challenge is called “Power-Up” and requires teams build alliance station walls to remotely control robots in a video game setting. Robots are required to place power cubes on scales and switches to gain ownership for the longest time.

Points are earned for each second of ownership. Cubes can also be traded up for three “power-ups” to gain a temporary advantage during the match. The teams have six weeks to build their respective robot.

The completed robot must be built and bagged by Feb. 20 to qualify for the Northern Lights Regional competition. “We meet every day after school and on weekends to continue the make progress on the robot,” Clausen said.

“We started working on brainstorming ideas on Jan. 6 when the challenge was released.” Kent Williams is the assistant coach of the team, with Jeff Van Keulen representing the community volunteer who helps with the build.

“We see improvements from the kids every year in the tools that they are able to use from the skills that they have learned from the previous season,” Clausen said.

There are 20 male and female students on the Minneota team in grades 9-12; two more than the team had last season. Two seniors on the team, Noel Swedzinski and Calvin Lozinski have been with the program for four years. Team members include: Seniors Allison Citterman, Hunter Fier, Calvin Lozinski, Noel Swedzinski; juniors Trevor Belaen, Tyler Lipinski, Nathan Ludwikowski, Ashlynn Monnet, Jaymes Moon, Austin Traen, Ryan Vlaminck, Zach Van Keulen; sophomores Tony DeSmet, Nolan Genzler, Mackenzie Vierstraete; freshmen Eileen Calderon, Kaden Culver, McKenzie Monnet, Logan Schuelke, Caleb Sterzinger.

Minneota team members are divided into various sub-divisions to work on various parts of the robot. These include: Fabricating (welding and construction), Designing parts using CAD software, Computer Programming for the robot, Pneumatics, Electrical Engineering (wiring robotic controls and motors), Marketing (fundraising and working with local sponsors), and Publicity (maintaining and updating social media pages). The popularity of Robotics is increasing each year.

In 2010, there were 110 robotics teams in the state. Last year, that number increased to 250 teams.