Students use robotics in competition

A group of Plains Junior High students had the opportunity to combine learning with fun and get in some friendly competition.

It was the annual SumoBot Tournament with Lego robots trying to push each other off a 36-inch platform. The 17 eighth-graders - 14 girls and two boys - worked in teams of two, except Gary Rehbein, who worked alone, to build their projects for robotics class, an elective offered by the school.

This is the third year for Kati Mitchell's eighth grade robotics class. The kids use Mindstorms education EV3 core set by Lego for their project. The kids started working on their robots in the first week of September, said Mitchell, a Plains School teacher for seven years. Mitchell said the class teaches the students critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, engineering design, basic computer coding, along with collaboration and perseverance. She noted that they also utilized mathematics skills on some of the challenges.

This year's teams included: Mauriella Adams and Madison Hill with their robot, "George," Layla Alexander and Deven Johnson with "Patricia," Kiara Brown and Makayla McNair with "WALL·E," Miranda Dawson and Emery Josephson with "Justin Bieber," Jeremiah Erikson and Reese Meredith with "Charlie," Karissa French and Aliah Owens with "Eve," Kylie Silva and Emile Tucker with "Kyme," Kameryn Malmend and JD Warta with "School Bus," and Gary Rehbein with "Tyrone."

The final test was a contest between the robots, two at a time, on the small platform. Two vehicles were set up side by side before hitting the start button. The robots turned, rammed and shoved each other around the platform until one was pushed off the edge. "WALL·E, you're a disappointment," said Brown after her second loss.

The students use computers to program their robots to move forward, backward and turn. The idea was for the robots to utilize their infrared sensors to find opponents and push them off the edge. The robots were programmed to detect the edge of the platform and would stop when they detected a color change or the edge. Mitchell said the robots had hundreds of possible functions, but the students worked with about 70 of them.

Mitchell said the goal of the competition was for the students to combine everything they had learned and be able to write a correct code for the SumoBot Tournament. She said that having the students do a fun project helps them better learn the material. They go through six modules in order to be at a competitive level.

When the engagement became a standoff, the robots were put back in place. If a standoff happened a second time, the robots were positioned to face each other in hopes that the different posture would bring different results. Some were pushed off the platform while others were tipped on their side.

It was a double elimination conflict. Mitchell didn't put any weight or length restrictions on the kids' building specifications. "I wanted them to have fun and use their imagination," said Mitchell. However, she said they will be limited when they build their robots in January for the robot drag racing competition.

Rehbein had the longest robot at just over 20 inches. He also constructed a flail on the front, which he thought would help with the face-offs. Malmend and Warta put a flipper on the front of their robot. Robot Eve had a spinner type device on the front that was supposed to act like a drill. The robot of Erikson and Meredith came back from the loser bracket to take on the undefeated Patricia, the bot of Alexander and Johnson, but Patricia, the shortest at eight inches, prevailed, giving its builders a 100% for the assignment, according to Mitchell, who added that all of them passed.

They also had a "free for all" contest, where all the robots were placed on the platform at the same time to battle it out. Eve went first, followed soon by WALL·E and then Tyrone. Charlie was the final survivor.