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Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

The Lathrop High School Robotics Team are guinea pigs.

The five-person team, led by Lathrop teacher Larry Ehnert, is one of twelve teams in the nation invited to showcase a new kit for midlevel robots at the annual For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robot Competition. The event will be held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and Ehnert said there will be around 35,000 competitors and spectators there.

For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, better known as FIRST, has three levels in robotic competition: Lego League, for 9 to 14-year-olds, FIRST Tech Challege, the midlevel competition for high school students and FIRST Robotics Competition, a large-scale robot category for high school students.

Ehnert said the benefits of the midlevel Tech Challenge include not needing a machine shop to put the robot together and a significantly lower cost, which makes it more accessible to more students.

In late March, a box containing parts and software but no instructions arrived from FIRST and the Lathrop team has been assembling and programming since. Although the teams should get six weeks to work on their robots, Ehnert’s team has only three and half weeks to get their robot functioning because of shipping issues. Recruited from Ehnert’s students, the team traveling to Atlanta is Karl Ott, Kelly Williams, Chris Nelson, Christian Rhyner and Kevin Swenson.

“This is a whole different system. Its more sturdy, has bigger pieces and you can do more things with it,” Ehnert said compared to previous Tech Challenge kits.

The biggest challenge was figuring out the programming. In the contest, the robot will have to be able to function autonomously for 30 seconds. Then there is a 2-minute driver-contolled period. The robots will have to perform in is a “rescue mission,” with tasks that replicate removing hazardous materials and delivering water and radios. The robot will have to able to travel up a ramp, collect items and sort items based on color.

Mystery partnerships are another layer to the demonstration. The student teams will be paired up to complete the mission, although none of the teams know who they will partner with or what skills the other robots possess.

The primary programming role has been taken over by Ott, who has taken every programming class at Lathrop. Although the lack of instructions had the team scratching their heads at first, their problem-solving skills kicked in.

“It’s flowing right now,” Ott said.

Ott’s teammates also have specialized roles. Rhyner and Nelson are constructing a cage so the robot will be able to carry more stuff at once. They have gone back to the drawing board three times, but Ehnert said that’s just part of the building process. Williams is working on trying to find sponsors for the team.

Swenson is working on an arm for the robot, another useful modification. When completed the robot cannot be bigger than 18 inches by 18 inches by 18 inches.

“It’s just very handy to have an arm on a robot,” Ehnert said.

FIRST was founded by inventor Dean Kamen, who is probably most known for inventing the Segway, a two-wheel motorized scooter. The competition was started in 1992 in a New Hampshire school gym and has become so big it outgrew DisneyWorld and had to be moved to the Georgia Dome.

With 35,000 people expected at the FIRST competition, Rhyner said he is looking forward to meeting the other teams. He also said all of the work put into the team has been worth it.

“It’s a chance to be on a robotics team, what’s cooler than that?” Rhyner said.