Ingenuity, engineering, and angry looking robots; A look at the Cove robotics program
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Thursday, April 18th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
COVE – Northeast Oregon is known for many things, especially when it comes to nature and agriculture. Being a hub for the next generation of technicians and programmers may not immediately spring to mind, but the students at the Cove School District’s robotics program are certainly making it a reality.
Re-Launching around 2018 after a brief run in the early 2000s, the current Cove Robotics program comprises around 18 students and is taught by head coach Theo Asbury and assistant coach Eric Dressen. Cove’s Highschool shop teacher, Russel Olmsted (known as “teach” by the students) and local volunteer Wayne Silas also help teach and mentor the program, with Dressen commenting “we could not have done it without them.”
The program itself is split between 5 teams and two competition leagues, the First Tech Challenge (FTC) and First Robotics Competition (FRC). The FTC teams, comprised of pairs of students working on smaller bots, are 20177 “High Velocity,” 15036 “JavaDaHutt,” 24672 “Spartans of Freedom,” and 20300 “YottaBytes.” The FRC team, 9438 “Leopard Tech,” comprises most students in the class, with many involved in both FTC and FRC. Each year, both competitions set unique criteria for how their respective games run and, in turn, how the robots should be built.
For the FTC teams, students had to design their bots to have three primary functions. Firstly, the bots are required to collect hexagonal “pixels” and stack them against a sloped board. The more pixels and the higher the stack, the more points. Each team designed their bots differently, but generally used a manipulator arm with a form of collector or grabber on the end. After that, the bots need to be capable of doing a pull up with their one arm. Lastly, students had to integrate a launcher for a paper airplane. A full demonstration of the FTC bots’ function, along with the larger FRC bot, can be found in the videos attached below:
There is also a 4th criterion for the FTC bots. For the first 30 seconds of a round, students can pre-program the bots to function autonomously and run through a specific task, earning extra points if successful. A demonstration of an autonomous bot in action can be seen at 00:50 in the second video. Prior to the FTC concluding, this autonomous function allowed team Velocity to be picked by the Fourth Seeded Alliance for their division, going on to the elimination rounds of their respective competition.
While the FTC bots are more than impressive, The FRC bot is when the real fun starts to happen and student’s talents come out in full, especially with this being Cove’s first year in the FRC. This year’s competition, Crescendo, tasked students with building a robot capable of launching foam rings in addition to climbing. Powered by a 12-volt battery, the bot is controlled remotely during competitions, with one student driving the frame, and the other controlling the launcher and climbing bars. The bot itself is the team’s second FTC bot and was constructed in just three days to replace the team’s first bot. As described by 7th grader Baylen:
“We actually did come in on a Sunday when we were building this robot just because we were in a time crunch. We spent every single bit of time on this. We made it from the belly pan up in three days and had it wired and coded and everything!”
When it comes to construction, many parts are ordered in, though the team do manufacture some plexiglass and metal components in addition to 3D printing some elements, such as parts for the launchers belt wheel and the cover for the radio receiver. With such a quick build, there were some kinks to work out though. At one point, after accidentally colliding with another bot, the rivets holding Cove’s bot to its frame broke, collapsing it. The team have since moved onto bolting the mechanism to the frame. As aptly described by Dressen:
“It’s crazy how much power is going on out there at once. They close the field off where nobody can get in. It’s too dangerous. They’re not trying to hurt the other robots, but collisions happen. It’s a bit like Spartacus with pit stops.”
The atmosphere in the competitions, however, couldn’t be further from gladiatorial. Teams frequently share expertise and components with each other. In fact, the angry googly eyes seen on the FRC bot were a mid-competition modification after the students put in a request for parts. As explained by 8th grader Parker:
“The funniest part was they had to say it over the loudspeaker. Every team heard, ‘does anyone have any googly eyes? 9438 has made a request for googly eyes.’”
Before FRC wound down for the year, Leopard tech came in 12th out of 43 during the regional tournament in Napa, earning the Rookie Inspiration Award.
Overall, though, the Cove Robotics program provides more than just a chance to compete. The class offers hands on experience in manufacturing, coding, and robotic design, in addition to its team building elements and the opportunity for students to travel. As reflected by Reese Delaney, a junior, when asked by Elkhorn Media Group:
“I was originally invited to this program when it was still a little bit newer. I joined for the technology aspect. I mean, this is stuff that can get you a job someday.”
Fellow student Cael remarked similarly on his time in the program:
“I wanted to join the program to learn more about robotics, like how it all worked and stuff. It was an appealing elective choice for me, and I’ve really learned a lot in the program.”
Freshman Issac and 8th grader Austin, team 20300, would also reflect fondly on the challenge of building the robot and bonding with the team along the way. As for what’s next, many current members plan to focus more on the FRC competition and move more into a mentorship role for FTC focused students as the program continues to expand. As put best by Reese:
“This was our team’s first year in FRC. I think for the off-season we’re just going to start improving our technologies in that. Because it is kind of a thing where you go from FTC to FRC, and there’s a lot of time crunch there. We might be more of FTC advisors and just overseeing younger kids and help them grow up into the program as well.”
