Gorton Robo Raiders preparing for state robotics competition Saturday

Matt Bower
Posted 1/15/15

The Robo Raiders robotics team at Gorton Junior High School is preparing for the Rhode Island Students of the Future FIRST LEGO League Robotics State Championship competition this Saturday in the …

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Gorton Robo Raiders preparing for state robotics competition Saturday

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The Robo Raiders robotics team at Gorton Junior High School is preparing for the Rhode Island Students of the Future FIRST LEGO League Robotics State Championship competition this Saturday in the Recreation Center Field House at Roger Williams University (RWU), 1 Old Ferry Road, Bristol.

The opening ceremony featuring remarks from U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin will start at noon, with the competition following from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and an awards ceremony from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Nearly 300 participants representing 40 student teams, ages nine to 14, will demonstrate their robot design and programming skills at the tournament. Student teams spent months doing scientific research and problem solving to build a LEGO-based robot.

According to an RWU press release, “The robots will compete head to head in The Robot Game, a series of obstacles on a thematic playing surface. The students will also present their ‘World Class Learning Unleashed’ project, an innovative creation designed by the teams that demonstrates the future of learning by creating a new learning tactic that represents different ways that kids want to learn today.”

Dean D’Andrea, technology education and visual arts department chair for Gorton as well as Warwick Veterans Memorial High School, said the competition stresses teamwork and problem solving, while providing students an opportunity to work on math, science, technology and engineering skills. Students’ writing skills are also put to good use, as they must put together a notebook and presentation in addition to having their robot perform various tasks.

“Students have to give a presentation and speak on behalf of the game they’re doing and why they did it,” D’Andrea said. “The kids come up with everything – the notebook, the game plan, team name, logo design,” he said. “As coaches, we just facilitate.”

D’Andrea is coaching the team along with Marc Bachand. The team consists of 10 students, six team members and four alternates.

“Students are put in a room and given a task and judges observe how they interact with one another; it’s about showing respect. Everyone has a say and is important to the team,” D’Andrea said. “There are 12 tasks on the game board to score points. They must develop a game plan and execute it, accomplishing as many tasks as they can in three minutes.”

D’Andrea said tasks must be accomplished both in autonomous mode, where the students control the robot, as well as in programming mode, where they write a program telling the robot what to do.

“At the junior high level, we have a robot kit, but at the senior high level, students can design their own robot and use more sophisticated programming language,” he said, adding the tasks at the high school level are more complicated and teams are allowed to team up with teams from other schools.

“The junior high program is a great feeder for the high school program,” D’Andrea said.

D’Andrea said Warwick Vets will be competing in the ninth annual FIRST Tech Challenge high school robotics competition hosted at New England Tech’s East Greenwich campus on Saturday, Jan. 31 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We’re the only Warwick junior/senior high combination to qualify for both competitions,” he said.

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