Clarke Central High School Robotics Team members junior Pedro Rivas-Salcido (left) and senior Bo Warren (right) prepare for their state robotics competition in room 185 on Jan. 16. CCHS Robotics Team co-coach Gabriel Wilfong is looking forward to the competition. “It’s my first year, so I don’t really know what to expect, but it’s been fun so far. I just expect that the state competition will be a lot of fun as well,” Wilfong said. Photo by Andrew Robinson
The Clarke Central High School Robotics team will participate in the state robotics competition on Feb. 21 and 22.
On Feb. 21 and 22, the Clarke Central High School Robotics team will compete in the state robotics competition in North Atlanta. The robotics team secured their place in the state competition by winning the regional contest on Jan. 11.
“At (regionals), we were able to finish number two, which then got us into the Final Four, and we ended up winning the winner take all event at the very end. So because of this, we’ve qualified for the state competition based on our competition performance,” CCHS science department teacher and robotics team co-coach Gabriel Wilfong said.
CCHS senior and robotics team member Bo Warren has been essential in the team’s run to state.
“I am mostly a builder and a driver. I built the mainframe of the robot, and I also control the arm whenever we’re doing competitions and practicing,” Warren said.
The state competition is based on a point system, and the team with the most points wins.
“Each year (the state competition) has a different theme and objective. This year, it’s basically where you have to pick up these large Lego block sort of things, and you have to build a tower or a skyscraper as tall as you can. The taller that it is, the more points you get,” Warren said.
This isn’t the first time the robotics team has advanced this far. In 2015, the team won the state competition and competed in the F.T.C. South Super-Regional Championship in San Antonio, Texas. Robotics team co-coach and science department teacher William Swain thinks that if everything goes right, the team can make it to Super-Regionals again.
“I think we have a great chance (at winning state), but with electronics, anything could go wrong. Cell phones could stop talking to each other in the middle of the competition, and we use cell phones to communicate to the robot. If it drops, then it’s out of your control. But if everything goes well, I think we have a great shot,” Swain said.
Warren is also optimistic that the team can secure a victory.
“We have a chance if we make adjustments to our robots, such as our linear slide and everything. If we can get that down, then maybe we have a chance,” Warren said.
