6
It turns out that a functioning telescop-
ing mast is an asset. That’s not quite so
surprising in the context of a robotics
competition, in which success relies on
such a capability.
Though the 50-member St. Paul’s School
FIRST Robotics team missed the cut in-
dividually after its five qualification rounds
at the Granite State FIRST Regional on
February 27, the student-built SPS robot
was selected to compete in the finals as
part of a three-team alliance with second-
place Phoenix Robotics, a club team
from the greater Nashua, N.H., area, and
third-ranked Team TJ2, out of Bridgewa-
ter-Raynham Regional High School in
Massachusetts.
The SPS team’s selection to join the alli-
ance marked the first time in 12 years of
participating in the national robotics compe-
tition that St. Paul’s was chosen for that duty.
Engineering is all about working through
challenges to find solutions. That’s what
the members of the SPS FIRST team (“the
Metal Vidsters”) did as they prepared their
robot for the Granite State Regional at
Nashua South High School.
Tasked with programming a robot that
could score points by stacking recycling
totes on scoring platforms, capping those
stacks with recycling containers, and
properly disposing of pool noodles that
represented litter, the SPS team encoun-
tered technical issues during its Friday-
morning practice round. But the beauty
of the FIRST competition is the opportu-
nity to support other robot alliances. It’s
the way creator Dean Kamen envisioned
the friendly competition more than a
dozen years ago.
“It’s certainly exciting to meet the chal-
lenges this competition offers,” said SPS
FIRST team member Jonah Jacobsen ’15,
who worked extensively on the slider and
pulley system that allowed the robot’s
mast to function properly. “It forces us to
use our problem-solving skills and apply
our knowledge.”
Early engineering dilemmas placed the
SPS team 37th in the field of 40 competing
high schools and clubs. But other teams
took notice of the SPS robot’s telescoping
mast and its ability to pick up objects
and place them on bin piles, leading to
St. Paul’s being selected for the final
round of Kamen’s recycling-themed game,
“Recycle Rush.” The three-team alliance
of St. Paul’s, TJ2, and Phoenix placed
third out of the eight alliances in the
quarterfinals, qualifying the trio for the
semifinals, which culminated in a third-
place overall finish.
“It was amazing to work with two such
great teams,” said Karlee Koswick ’16,
one of the SPS FIRST Robotics captains.
“The three teams in our alliance worked
so smoothly together. The other teams
stacked totes and we put the bins on top.
Our robot worked amazingly in both the
quarterfinals and semifinals. We made
it further than expected and it was an
amazing experience.”
Robotic Alliance
The SPS robot demonstrates its telescoping mast ability at the FIRST Robotics Granite State Regional in Nashua, N.H. (photo: Jana F. Brown)
