The Robotics club here at Roosevelt has been around since 1998, the year when most of today’s freshmen were born.

       At a meeting last Thursday, September 13, Robotics members were working on several projects: a robot to enter in the Battle O’ Baltimore, some VEX robots, and a robot that made its debut in the Homecoming Parade Saturday.

       The Battle O’ Baltimore is sponsored by the Baltimore Area Alliance (BAA), a collection of Robotics teams in the Baltimore Area that is also a part of FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).

This year, Robotics teams in the BAA designed, built, and programmed robots to pick up, shoot, and retrieve basketballs. According to some of the robot’s designers, it took a total of about two months to finish the robot. The Battle O’ Baltimore competition took place Saturday, September 15, and unfortunately, the ERHS robot placed last.

       VEX robots are smaller, easier-to-handle robots. They are used in smaller-scale competitions. A typical VEX robot weighs nine to ten pounds. In comparison, the Battle O’ Baltimore robot had a weight limit of 120 pounds without the battery.
The ERHS Robotics club has participated in the Greenbelt Labor Day Festival in the past, and hopes to take part in the US National Engineering Fair later this school year. Also, FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) will be releasing a challenge in early January to all FIRST Robotics teams in the nation.

Teams will have six weeks to design, build, and program their robot according to the challenge and using the parts sent to them. They will then take part in a series of events and competitions narrowing down the teams to the best in the country, and finally, the winning teams will gather in St. Louis, Missouri for the FRC championship in April.

       The robotics club welcomes members of all grade and experience levels, as junior Alexander Yu explained. “No matter how much you know, you can come in, and they train you,” he said.

Sophomore programmer Adam Claassen said it is his second year in Robotics club, and explained that his job is to “fix other people’s code.”

Claassen enjoys being in Robotics because he likes building robots and playing with computers.

Freshman Gabriella Hall explained that she is part of the team to build robots, increase her chance of scholarships, and work with other students.

“I feel like I am a part of a team and I feel that I help them get to success” said Hall.

Dr. Taylor, the club’s sponsor for the past four years, “wanted to keep Robotics as an interest in the technology department.”

There are also three teacher mentors, Mr. Healey, a mentor for five years, Mr. Desch, a mentor for 12 years, and Mr. Zuckerman, a mentor for 10 years.

The Robotics club meets Wednesdays and Thursdays after school in Room 011 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.