TF robot completes MSU mission

} rightFrontDrive.setPower(-1);. No, The Ledger did not make a mistake. This computer programming, called "coding," would make sense if you were a robot, or member of Thompson Falls' robotics club lead by Falls High School science teacher and robotics coach Eric Nygaard.

"Collectively, this is the best we've done in our five years competing," Nygaard proudly said of his robotics team, who placed second in Helena earlier this year and earned thirteenth out of 33 competitors late last month at the First Tech Challenge at Montana State University (MSU).

The 10-person team is comprised of students ranging from seventh to twelfth grade who spent what they estimated at 50 hours each building their robot. Nygaard estimates to have more than $1,500 of materials in the mechanism, which is composed of metal and plastic. He shared that all the plastic parts were designed by the team and printed on a 3D printer, making it a custom piece.

Robotics students faced the challenge of picking up "moon minerals" and placing them into a "lander" for a simulated specimen collection. To begin the 2.5- minute round, robots had to drop a plastic cube in a designated corner by preprogramed, non-controlled autonomous action and then collect plastic Whiffle balls (moon rocks) via remote control operation and place them into the lander. The final stint, the robot had to return to the lander and hang itself onto the lander, indicating "Mission Complete."

If this wasn't difficult enough, they also had parameters to comply with. The robot could weigh no more than 45 pounds, it had to fit inside an 18-inch cube and had to be four inches off the ground. The most specialized feature on the robot is a collector arm that's comprised of a "linear slide," allowing it to reach the elevated lander collection cell yet capable of sliding back within itself, allowing it to fit within the 18-inch requirement.

There were teams from Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming competing, according to Nygaard. He added that each team is randomly partnered with another team and they collectively participate in five qualifier rounds.

"We had some unlucky bounces." Nygaard said. He quickly added that even though the event is labeled as a competition, it is more of a "Collaborative Competition." For example, points are given to teams displaying "gracious professionalism," overall robot presentation and being helpful to all competitors; meaning they help and support one another, no matter what team they are on.

In Helena, the Falls team won the top honor of "Judge's Choice," because they helped Anaconda with a battery problem. In Bozeman, Thompson Falls ended up out competing a team from Helena (who qualified for Worlds in Houston based on their performance at MSU) during a round because they helped the Falls students with a coding problem.

Coding seemed to be the most common complaint with the students. "We encountered problems with coding and wiring," student Nick Viera stated. "Yes! We rewired the robot and it quit working!" Cooper Cable exclaimed, sharing that this crisis occurred only days before the competition. Thankfully, the group pulled themselves together. With a lot of "trial and error," with fixes causing more problems, and repetitively those fixes created more problems...the group ended on a "fix," and got their robot in working condition just hours before competing.

Team members include Shaylinda Walker Baird, Cassie Fausett, Isaac Buetow, Wyatt Griffith, Theo Nygaard, Lance Palmer, Daniel Ryan, Nathan Burwig, Cable and Viera. Of these 10, three said that this robotics experience has solidified interest in obtaining a college degree in engineering, robotics or computer coding technology.

The team is happy with how they performed at the First Tech Challenge and according to Cable, "We are number one in our hearts."