Saturday, April 9 was the 4th time Perry Robotics club attended FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Regional Competition at Grand Canyon University. In this event, many schools convened to compete. With the medieval theme, the schools designed robots that were able to maneuver around obstacles and lift objects.

Senior robotics club member Nolan Lambing explains that Perry’s robot “was quite different from some of other [teams].” Using a unique wheel, a mecanum wheel, rather than some of the other possible options, the robot was more versatile. “The wheels allowed our robot to move left, right, forward, and back,” says Lambing, “without actually having to turn it ourselves.”

At the event, students competed in a variety of ways. The objective was to have the robot travel through the arena and collect points that are awarded by throwing the ball at the other team’s tower to bring it down. “We had to build a robot that could cross nine different kinds of defenses that were interchangeable,” Strock explains.

Serket did face some obstacles of its own. “The wheels we chose made it somewhat difficult to get to the other side of the obstacles, mainly because of [a lack of] traction” says Lambing.  Junior robotics club member Ben Levine explains, “Because the wheels made it difficult to get over the obstacles, we mainly played a defensive role.”

Once a round was over, the students were allowed to take their robots into the pit and work on ways to fix them. However, most complications were not an easy fix. “There was a problem with all of the motors,” says robotics club president senior Leann Scott.

“We had high expectations of winning and taking first place this year, but unfortunately we did not do that” says Strock. However, the Pumas hope to learn from their mistakes to come back better next year. “We have a great group of students this year that were dedicated to more than just the robot, but also the core values of the FIRST organization and gracious professionalism.”