Members of the Richmond High School robotics team are staying busy this winter as they prepare to face off with area schools at this years district competitions.

The team, which comprises nearly two dozen members, is set to take part in the 2017 FIRST Robotics district competitions this spring. Events are set to take place March 17 and 18 at Waterford High School and April 7 and 8 at Marysville High School.

If the team gains enough success and earns enough points at the district level, it will be able to attend the state and world competitions later this year.

FIRST Robotics, an international high school robotics competition, challenges high school teams coached by mentors to build robots that are able to complete tasks within a game. Because the challenge is different each year, teams must build new robots, encouraging them to be innovative and learn new skills.

The mission of FIRST Robotics is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication and leadership, the organizations website states.

Students have just six weeks to design, build and program the robots. Participating can be expensive, so teams must fundraise during the non-competition season and come up with a business plan, reaching out to the community to gain support.

On Jan. 7, the team at Richmond High School received the name of this years game: FIRST Steamworks. The steampunk-themed challenge is based on steam and focuses on powering an airship.

This is the first year humans will be on the field with their robots.

Robots built by the team or alliance as it is called in competition can shoot fuel, consisting of small yellow balls, into a boiler and put gears on pedestals to turn rotors, said Nicholas Matthes, a third-year member of the Richmond team. By shooting the fuel into the boiler, it earns points and kPa, or kilopascals, for the alliance. The kilopascals are steam to prepare the airship for takeoff.

Every rotor that is turning by putting gears together earns 50 points, he added. If robots are hanging by a rope off of the airship at the end of the round, the alliance gains another 50-point bonus.

Matthes, a junior at Richmond High who currently serves on the team as a co-mechanical lead, said the squad has continued to grow and improve since he joined in 2015.

To see the team grow as much as it has is tremendous, he said. Were now at 22 members and striving further and further.

For more information about FIRST Robotics, visit firstinspires.org.

Emily Pauling is an editorial assistant at The Voice. She can be contacted at 586-273-6200 or epauling@digitalfirstmedia.com.

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Richmond robotics team gears up for districts - New Baltimore Voice Newspapers