As the frenzied voice of the announcer boomed through the gymnasium, robotics teams scrambled in a never-ending parade of grinding gears and revving engines to test their robots in head-to-head competition Saturday at Oconto Falls High School.
Despite the intense atmosphere and desire to win, competitors at the the Northeast Wisconsin VEX Robotics Challenge knew there was a greater prize at stake than a trophy.
“Everyone has a good time, and everyone is nice to each other,” said Lincoln Kaszynski, 13, of Oconto. “It’s mainly about sportsmanship. You don’t really see a lot of sportsmanship today.”
This is the second year that Team Green, the local 4-H robotics club, hosted the competition that drew 35 teams of high school and middle school students from Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.
Every year, kids from around the world compete in the VEX Robotics Challenge, an engineering competition that helps introduce participants to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities and careers.
“Kids get exposure to STEM careers, but also in 4-H we look at those softer skills, such as teamwork, communication and problem solving,” said Paula Huff, Oconto County 4-H youth development agent.
This year’s VEX challenge is called Skyrise and requires contestants to design and build robots that can stack hollow cubes and pegs in a 12- by 12-foot ring.
Team Green adviser Kent Lyng, an electrical engineer at Oconto Electric Cooperative, which sponsored the event, said the competition gives kids a chance to put their skills and knowledge to the test.
“It’s a hands-on thing, so they are not just studying about math and technology in a textbook,” Lyng said. “They are actually applying it in order to build something.”
Planning for the competition begins in April, immediately following the world competition, with the announcement of the new challenge. Teams spend the summer designing and testing concepts before building their robots during the school year.
This year, Team Green’s 10 members worked in teams of five to create two robots.
According to Kelton Lepak, 15, of Oconto, everyone collaborated to build the group’s one-of-a-kind robots.
“It’s not just about you,” he said. “It’s about the whole team. Everyone contributes to our success.”
Assisting Team Green are founding club members Jake Sellhausen, 19, of Lakewood, and Jennifer Lyng, 19, of Oconto Falls, who mentor the group when they are not busy earning their engineering degrees at Michigan Technological University.
“Seeing the new generation come in and try out new things, playing a new game, it’s just kind of cool to see how it’s evolving,” Sellhausen said.
“They definitely have some interesting design concepts,” Jennifer Lyng said. “It makes it interesting to watch.”
Lepak, who is the head programmer of Team Green, said the group wanted to design its robots to score on the highest levels.
“Our pneumatic claw is what really sets us apart,” he said. “The drivers don’t have to think about using an intake sensor or limit switch on the claw, so it automatically grabs the cubes, which puts less stress on the driver.”
During the competition, teams accumulate scores by competing in a number of matches that pit two alliances against each other. An alliance is a team of two schools or organizations that work together to score points.
A match consists of two rounds, including a 15-second autonomous round that requires teams to program their robots to work on their own, and then a driver-controlled round that lasts for one minute and 45 seconds.
Between matches, teams make adjustments and fix their robots.
“Whatever doesn’t work after the match has to be taken care of,” said Jordan Sellhausen, 14, of Lakewood.
“Mostly it’s just maintenance stuff,” Lepak said. “After every match something breaks. It’s usually not that bad—at least we hope it isn’t.”
At the end of the qualifying matches, the top eight teams select two alliance members for the elimination round, which consists of a quarterfinal, semifinal and championship round.
Team Green had one robot make it through the qualifying round in eighth place before it was eliminated in the quarterfinal, but the team as a whole received the Judges’ Award for its hard work, sportsmanship and overall performance.
“I feel like we have done very well during the competitions,” Kaszynski said.
Team Green will next compete Feb. 7 at Bay Port High School, where it will once again vie for a spot in the state competition in Appleton later in February.
Matt Lyng, 17, of Oconto Falls, the last remaining founding member of Team Green, said he has gained valuable experience in the field he envisions for a career and made a few friends along the way.
“The people you meet are great,” he said. “Now I have a whole new set of friends that I get to meet with every week and hang out with.”
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