Some local engineering students are inching their way closer to a state title.
The Warren Technical High group will participate in a state competition next month after they put the finishing touches on their robot.
The robot coming off the ramp is stopping short of the goal at Warren County Technical High School in Franklin Township, New Jersey.
“We’re judged critically, our notebook is judged critically," said student, Whymia Davis. "They kind of don’t give us any breaks.”
That means tweaking code on the computer until the robot gets it right.
“It’s pretty much the students do their own work," added advisor, Sean McGeough.
These students are getting ready for the New Jersey First Tech Challenge.
A robot competition for middle school and high school students seeking careers in science and technology.
The students call themselves the W.A.L.K.E.R.S., which is an acronym for wireless alternative life forms keen on exploration robotic systems.
Some didn't want to compete until they saw previous competitions.
“They were all very excited, they were all very enthusiastic, they were very happy at their accomplishments,” said student, James Erdman.
There are three parts, first the autonomous portion where the robot must follow a program.
Then they have to guide the robot to pick up wiffle balls and place them in three different sized scoring cylinders.
Last year, the team placed 55th in the state and didn't make the finals.
“You’d be sitting in the stands and it’s kind of depressing not being able to hear your name, but this year we heard our name like four times at every meet.” said McGeough.
Students still have over a week to fine tune the robot and get it ready for the state competition, but today they actually test putting balls into this 90 centimeter cylinder.
“They don’t almost realize what they are doing because it is fun," said Davis. "We do a lot of engineering principles, we do a lot of science, but really it’s about problem solving.”
The competition is on March 8th.
The group has won two trophies already and hopefully next month they'll add one more.
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