Robotics team headed to state
Iron Rangers qualify for BEST robotics championship
Before starting the robot game, SABEST robotics judge debriefs Brendan Wyatt and Nick Finley on the competition rules and point values. Wyatt and Finley both drove the robot and spotted for each other during the contest.
November 8, 2019
Robotics is far from a traditional sport, but from the energy and dedication when attending a typical practice session, you’d think it was.
The Iron Giants robotics team advanced to state after placing second overall in the San Antonio Boosting Engineering Science and Technology (BEST) competition.
The San Antonio BEST championship is separated into two components. The robot portion competition measures the versatile abilities of the robot by having it performs tasks that have to do with the game theme for the year. This year’s “Off the Grid” theme had robots moving fallen debris, “connecting telephone pole wires,” which is the stringing of bungee cords across wood, and moving “transformer skids,” or small cardboard boxes. The other component measures the team’s ability to market the robot to judges acting as a potential business interested in buying their robot. The team’s collective performance in both parts determines if they will advance to state.
“I did business and marketing,” sophomore Alejandro Hincapie said. “That’s like advertising our team our robot to the judges.”
After a decision that came down to a 0.61 fraction of a point difference, the Iron Giants seized second place, marking their spot at the state tournament. The team also won Most Sportsmanship.
“For me personally making it to state and coming so close to winning first is a testament to just how well our team is able to work together,” Iron Giants president Vishali Baker said. “We all have different backgrounds, interests, and ways of life, but we’re able to collaborate together and really show true teamwork to be successful in competition.”
Smithson Valley and Spring Branch Middle also put out their own notable performances. Spring Branch placed 7th along Best Table Display and Interview while Smithson Valley took 3rd overall with Best Use of Game Theme and T-Shirt Design.
The Iron Rangers will attend the state contest from Dec. 5- 7.
“I feel excited and hopeful for state,” sophomore Jackson Henri said. “We got a near perfect score last competition, and we’ve got a whole month to improve.”