Front Porch: Caldwell High robotics team qualifies for World Championship – Idaho Press-Tribune

Today is Robotics Day (unofficial) on the Front Porch. If you are the sort of person who thinks robots will cause the end of humanity as we know it, shield your eyes and find a different article to read.

The Vex Robotics State Championship was Feb. 24 in Hailey, and of course, Canyon Countys schools had a great showing.

The most applause, however, goes to Caldwell High School, whose Ares Ballistics team finished the tournament as one of two runners-up to the tournament champion, Wood River High School (which was the host school, by the way, but I dont suspect cheating).

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Ares Ballistics also received the Judges Excellence Award, which will send them to the World Championship in Kentucky in April!

Another major event award, the Design Award, went to Ridgevue Highs NOVA team, so it gets the next round of applause. (And if were talking about team names, another of Ridgevues teams,The Gentlemen, gets my vote for classiest.)

East Valley Middle School also competed, and as far as I can tell, it was the only middle school involved! While they didnt win every time, these kids did take home their share of victories and will be so much stronger when they get to be in high school and, you know, can actually compete against their peers. Keep an eye out for this team!

To finish my results report, the Nampa School District team M.I.G. finished in the top 10, as did Caldwell Highs Ares Ballistics and Leos Bosses teams.

Congratulations to all of you, and good luck to the members of the Ares Ballistics team for that World Championship!

Vision Charter finishes FIRST Tech Challenge in 8th

My second robotics tidbit concerns the FIRST Tech Challenge, which was Feb. 11 in Moscow. Vision Charters robotics team, Beauty Bot and The Beasts, competed and finished in eighth place out of 26! They are now headed to the next level of competition.

Beauty Bot & co. was given the 2016-2017 Championship Tournament Finalist Alliance award and the Control Award, which celebrates a team that uses sensors and software to enhance the robots functionality on the field, according to Sammy Samuelson, clerk of the board at Vision Charter School.

In an email to the IPT, Sammy went on to say the Control Award is given to a team that demonstrates innovative thinking in the control system to solve game challenges such as autonomous operation, enhancing mechanical systems with intelligent control, or using sensors to achieve better results on the field.

Members of this team include Paul Riebe, Steven Schofield, Patrick Millar, Esther Schofield, Paige Busmann, Matt Jones, Makenna Doramus, Alex Harrold and JJ Riebe.

They spent five months preparing for this competition, along with 400 hours spent mentoring local children in robotics.

In short, each team member deserves a high-five the next time you see them. And the next couple times after that, for awesomeness and service to the community.

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Front Porch: Caldwell High robotics team qualifies for World Championship - Idaho Press-Tribune