EAST LONGMEADOW – Eight sixth grade students in East Longmeadow recently competed in both the New England Regional tournament and Worlds tournament for VEX Robotics. The sixth graders won Regionals in Worcester, beating 17 other teams, and walked away from Worlds in Louisville, Kentucky with the Judge’s Award. Back from their travels, the students are eager to share their accomplishments and experiences with the town.

Reminder Publications met up with the award-winning VEX Robotics team to discuss their experiences working together, learning about robots and their favorite moments competing at Regionals and Worlds. The following is an edited question and answer interview with the students.

Reminder Publications: “How did you all decide that you wanted to get involved in robotics at school?”

Anna Turnberg: “In fifth grade we were part of a math and reading pullout group, and Ms. Barry [robotics teacher] gave us the option if we wanted to join the robotics team, just for those people who were in the pull out classes. So we were like, ‘Yeah, sure!’”

Emerson Pelletier: “In the math pullout we were already building robots too, and that was kind of fun, so we thought ‘cool!’”

Lucas Mantoni: “When we were in fourth grade we got introduced to the idea of a robotics class, and she was talking to us about how next year it could happen. The [robotics] course was set up in the classroom where we could all be, and it would fascinate me because I would see this little obstacle and was always wondering how could a robot do all of this, so I just joined right after fourth grade.”

Reminder Publications: “What did the robot you built specifically have to do, are there parameters?”

Samir Khan: “There are different challenges among the field, and the goal was to get certain rings on poles. If you got them uniform there would be a total amount of points.”

Reminder Publications: How did you build the robot?

Lucas Mantoni: “First we just thought about the easiest way of doing it [the tasks], and then from there we knew we only had a certain amount of time, so we started with a basic robot that could do it, that way if we ran out of time we could add on and add on. At our first competition we didn’t have an amazing robot but it worked. Then our second one, we made a more advanced version. Then when we went to Worlds we have the robot we have now, which works the most efficient.”

Reminder Publications: “How are you controlling the robot?”

Samir Khan: “There’s a brain on the robot that connects with the controller where the wires connect, so the wires connect with the controller.”

Benjamin Bedford: “There’s a radio frequency between the remote and the robot. Everything on the robot has ports that go together that connect the motor to the brain, and the brain is where everything goes on.
    “I was the autonomous programmer, which is when you have to set up a block-controlled program that could perform tasks for the robot without using the remote controller at all, which you would download into the robot, press a simple button and have it run on from there. What was very challenging about this autonomous program was constant testing and you have to have exact numbers. The mere hundredth of an inch, tenth of an inch is crucial to a better program. It can be very time consuming.”

Reminder Publications: “Tell me about the difference between your experiences at National’s in Worcester to Worlds in Kentucky.”

Lucas Mantoni: “Everyone was from all over, and the robots were more advanced. Where you thought you were great, you were just good. There was no comparing.”

Benjamin Bedford: “There were robots that were just astonishing to the eye.”            

Reminder Publications: “What was your favorite part about being on the team?”

Emerson Pelletier: “My favorite part about being on the team is getting to work with everybody else on the team and learning to work together.”

Samir Khan: “Most things I do after school are mostly sports, and robotics was like something else that was fun that didn’t involve sports, it was something easier I feel like that you’re not pressured in.”

Benjamin Bedford: “What I found most fun about the robotics program was the atmosphere was very friendly, no one was really competitive and everyone was very welcoming. I felt it to be a very fun atmosphere.”

Lucas Mantoni: “One of my favorite things to do with the experimenting, these robots are pretty much unpredictable. One day they’ll be doing one thing and the next day you’ll come in without touching it and they’ll be doing something else.”

Anna Osborne: “My favorite part was spending time with these people and learning more about them.”

Anna Turnberg: “I don’t really have a favorite thing, I love robotics as a whole.”

Andrew Garstka: “I like how we’re being immersed in such a useful thing for later in life this early. I think most of us could use this as a career one day.”

Reminder Publications: “Is there anything that stood out to any of you, whether it was a learning experience or just something fun you did over the course of your time on the team?”

Samir Khan: “Our first robot, the prototype wasn’t that good. When we went to the regionals we saw different robots and we had experiences that helped us develop.”

Lucas Mantoni: “My favorite part of Worlds was seeing the cultures. Me and Samir, we were driving together and we got paired up with a team from China. They couldn’t speak English, so we had a translator, and that experience I think will always stick with me.”

Benjamin Bedford: “What I found was a big part of robotics was trial and error, everyone here experienced a lot of it, the building, with many different parts going wrong, my programming with 100 to 200 different programs. Ten of them would work one day, and then be completely different the next.”
    
The VEX robotics students will have the opportunity to continue their efforts all the way through High School in East Longmeadow.