Virginia City robotics team advances to national competition

The Enterprisers, a robotics team made up of high school students from Reno and Virginia City, has advanced to the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championships in St. Louis, Mo.

The Enterprisers, partnered with teams from Portland, Ore., took first place in the robot performance competition at the West Super-Regionals in Sacramento, where 72 teams from 14 western states competed.

The team also received the Think Award, presented for documenting the team’s engineering design process, and was a finalist for the Promote video. The Enterprisers are the only Nevada team to qualify for Worlds.

The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship will be at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis on April 23-26, hosting the top 128 teams from 17 countries. About 3,500 teams across the world competed to determine the top 128 teams.

Using a combination of motors, controllers, wireless communications, metal gears, and sensors, including infrared tracking and touch sensors, students program their robots to operate in both autonomous and driver-controlled modes on a specially designed field.

The object of the 2013-2014 game is to score more points than an opponent by placing plastic blocks into pendulum goals. Teams will be challenged to raise their team alliance flag up a flagpole, raise their robots off the ground using a platform pull-up bar, and end the match with a balanced pendulum to earn extra points.

“When students participate in the FIRST Tech Challenge, they are encouraged to think like engineers and scientists,” said Don Bossi, President of FIRST. “Throughout the season, these young people will employ the same disciplines and complex problem-solving skills that will someday enable them to solve society’s greatest challenges.”

The Enterprisers’ World Championship budget is $10,000 and they are looking for sponsors. To help, contact Coach Patti Poston, at pposton@mm.st.