MHS Robotics team hosts regional competition

MHS Geared Up Robotics teammates Josiah Morgan and Michael Gosselio check the sensors on their robot prior to the competition. Photos by Kim Gorman.

Competition was fierce at the third annual Manchester VEX Robotics Qualifier, held at Manchester High School on Jan. 14. The event, hosted by the MHS team Geared Up, drew teams from all over New England to compete for a chance to qualify for the U.S. National and World Championships.

The goal for each team was to score the most points during a competition. This was achieved by a driver controlling a robot which was designed, constructed and operated to place as many balls as possible into barrels, or goals, with its claw.

According to Geared Up team member James Nilson, winning requires a combination of good robot design and programming, driving skills and strategy.

“If you’re first to get the ball in a barrel, you get extra points. You also need to know which goals are better to put balls in,” Nilson said.

JJ Morgan, a senior at MHS and a Geared Up team member, said that each team requires a programmer, a builder, a driver, an “idea person,” and a coach that assists the driver during the competitions. Everyone on the team switches roles, so that they are well-rounded.

Nilson credits MHS technology teacher and Geared Up advisor Chris Prytko with helping the team to learn and grow. “He really tries to give you free reign to work things out yourself. He’s always trying to make us do better,” Nilson said.

The energetic event also drew a large number of spectators. One of them was former Geared Up team captain Caleb Tower, currently a Petty Officer 3rd Class in the United States Coast Guard, who was at the event while on leave. Prytko once invited Tower to speak to the team about how his experience with robotics has helped his career.

“I was trying to stress to them to pay attention to the fundamentals. It will help you in the future,” said Tower, whose job as a gunner’s mate deals with mechanics and weapons systems.

At the end of the day, team Geared Up did not qualify for the world championship as they did in 2010, but they were already moving forward, to continue to learn and improve. They dismantled one of the robots and plan to rebuild and reprogram it for the next competition.

“The day of the competition is all about winning,” said Nilson. “But the next day it’s all about fun.”

The MHS VEX Robotics team will hold a breakfast fundraiser at Applebee’s restaurant in Manchester on Feb. 4. For more details, contact Chris Prytko at b11prytk@manchesterct.gov.