Battlebots: Morgan County robotics team ranked second in the world, first in the nation – Reporter-Times

MORGAN COUNTY A team of homeschooled students have gained global attention for their work in robotics, competing nationally and globally to earn the titles of first in the nation and second overall in the world.

The team, called GEARS 323V, is a branch of Cornerstone Robotics, a private club which advocates for robotics in the homeschool community.

Theteam, currently in itsfifth year as a group, and in just that short time have claimed a number of championship titles, including the 2022 Indiana State Champions and Robot Skills Champions.

"They also won the Design Award, which means the best engineering notebook,"Julie Robbins, the team's coach, said. "They got the Robotics Community Award, which means the team in the state that most helps the robotics community ... they actually went home with a lot."

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The team of five students includes a mix of high schoolers and middle schoolers, allowing for older students to help mentor the younger ones.

The team also holds workshops and mentoring sessions for novice teams throughout the state to help them hone their craft.

"They are number two in the world and number one in the nation for their robot skills," Robbins added. "That's their programming skills and their driver skills in robotics. They've had a good year."

Rankings are for the High School VEX Robotics World Skills Standings, which includes public, private, homeschool, and private clubs.

"It encompasses all different schools," Robbins said. "There are countries from all over the world that participate."

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The U.S. Open Championship in Iowa will take place on March 28-30, with the VEX World Championship in Dallas in May.

Robbins anticipates teams from across the world will be in attendance.

She explained the competitions consisted of two teams against two teams, with the teams being randomly paired throughout the day.

"The people who have the best records... get to choose their partner," Robbins noted. "There's another team in Indiana that we paired with. People may not know it, but Indiana is one of the top robotics states in the world. It's a very, very strong state to compete in."

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Robbins added that the team was currently self-funded, andwere on the hunt for a corporate sponsor.

"They're good at what they do, but they're also just really kind and helpful,"Robbins said. "It's a really good team, they're just great kids."

For more information, visit http://www.cornerstonerobotics.net/323v.html or contact Julie Robbins atjulie.robbins@sbcglobal.net.

Contact Reporter-Times reporter Grace Phillipsat gphillips@reporter-times.com or at 765-346-4815

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Battlebots: Morgan County robotics team ranked second in the world, first in the nation - Reporter-Times