Dow High’s ‘The Charge’ breaks team records at FIRST Robotics Championship – Midland Daily News

Local FIRST Robotics Teams pose for a photo during the FIRST Robotics Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, in April.

Local FIRST Robotics Teams pose for a photo during the FIRST Robotics Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, in April.

Dow High's 'The Charge' breaks team records at FIRST Robotics Championship

Dow Highs FIRST Robotics Team 2619, The Charge, had the best performance in team history at the 2017 FIRST World Championship, which took place in late April in St. Louis, Missouri.

FIRST Steamworks is the 2017 competition, where two alliances of three robots prepare to take flight by scoring balls to build steam pressure, gathering gears to start rotors and climbing ropes to board onto the airships at the end of each match. Each team plays at least 10 qualification matches during the championship competition. At the beginning of each match, the robots are pre-programmed and run autonomously to score points for their alliance. The rest of each match is run by drive team members from each alliance team.

There were more than 400 teams at the St. Louis Championship, with 68 teams on six different competition fields. The Charge was ranked 7th at the end of qualification matches and proceeded to be the 6th place alliance captain for playoffs on the Tesla Field this was the first time that The Charge was an alliance captain at the World Championship.

What makes our robot stand out is its robustness we are able to take hits and still stand strong, something other robots lacked, said Peter Kozerski, a freshman from The Charge. Also we were able to use and integrate the new motion magic system very effectively.

The Charges alliance partners were Team 3130, The ERRORs, from St. Paul, Minnesota; Team 193, Mort Beta, from Flanders, New Jersey; and Team 4485, Tribe Tech Robotics, from Danville, Indiana. The alliance excelled, advancing through the play-offs by beating higher ranked alliances, and ending their run in the Tesla field finals finishing as finalists (2nd place on the Tesla field). The Charges previous best finish at the World Championship was in 2010 when they ended their run in the playoff quarterfinals on their field.

When asked about their secret to their success, Ethan Poupard, the Drive Team coach, mechanical co-lead, and junior from The Charge said, Open communication is a big thing. Even though I am in charge, I still need everyones (the alliances) input and opinions, and scouting for a cooperative alliance is important.

Although the competition is a focus for all levels of robotics (grade school through high school), the FIRST Robotics Championship event offers more than just robots. The Innovation Fair is packed with sponsors of FIRST that have set up booths and interactive displays.

I got to listen to a man from Bell Labs talk about voice recognition software, like Siri and making it completely portable, as in a device without connection necessary, Amelia Mylvaganam, a sophomore from The Charge, said. He used the software to recognize my friend Johns voice as a superhero and he got Batman. It was pretty cool.

There is also Scholarship Row, where different colleges and universities from around the country and world recruit future generation of students.

Its awesome! Ive been able to see colleges from Iowa to Australia there, trying to make connections that will help you in your search for college, said Emily Dean, team director and senior on The Charge.

There are also three days of conferences, where students and team mentors can attend seminars and be educated and inspired by industry leaders and other teams from around the world.

The Charge is sponsored by The Dow Chemical Co., Nexteer Automotive, Midland Public Schools, The Dow Corning Corp., Midland Steel, the Michigan Baseball Foundation and countless community boosters. Without them, The Charge wouldnt be able to create the robot that led to new adventures and records, team officials stated.

Our sponsors are fantastic because they provide us with the generous means to not only build our robot and compete, but also to reach out into our community and educate about STEM, said Mike Most, Dow High junior and electrical lead.

Other local teams competing at the FIRST Championship included Bullock Creeks 3770, BlitzCreek; Midland Highs Team 5509, Like a Boss; Calvary Baptist Academys Team 6753, RoboKings; Freelands Team 5166, Fabricators; and Saginaw Arthur Hills Team 5222, Jackbotics. All of the local teams expressed appreciation for their sponsors and the support of their schools and communities that have made this season and their trip the championship possible.

Eden Hackett, Bullock Creek team captain and junior, shared that the championship event celebrates teamwork.

Worlds is an amazing experience for FIRST Robotics teams, Hackett said. It is a celebration of everything our team has worked for all season long. It is amazing to see our team grow throughout the season together. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go to Worlds yet again this year.

Attending the conferences was one of the championship highlights for the Fabricators.

I really enjoyed the Women in STEM Discussion Panel, said Madelyn Snider, safety captain for the Fabricators. Seeing so many professional women role models inspired me to look harder at a career in medical technology. There are so many career paths open to me. I now know how FIRST can help introduce me to these fields of study.

Calvary Baptist Academys RoboKing teams favorite experiences at the FIRST Championship included meeting Dean Kamen, the founder of FIRST and the inventor of the Segway, as well as competing with the best teams from other countries.

FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. It is an international robotics program that offers education and excitement for students from early elementary to high school. To learn more about FIRST, visit http://www.firstinspires.org

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Dow High's 'The Charge' breaks team records at FIRST Robotics Championship - Midland Daily News