LHS Robotics Team FAQs

What do robotics teams do: The main focus is to design, build and compete with a remote-controlled, programmable robot. Doing this requires many different jobs including team leaders, CAD/design, mechanics, electronics, programming, drivers, safety, record-keeping, ‘team spirit’, publicity and more. There are also additional awards for animation, web page design, etc. You can choose to participate in any one or several of these ways.

Who can be on this team: Any LHS student ages 16 to 20 with an ASB card. Good behavior and passing grades are required to attend competitions.

How many members on a team: A minimum of 4, ideal is 10-20, with 5-10 mentors.

Who leads the team: Ideally the team is led by the students with mentors assisting. Team captain and other positions should be voted on by the members.

Do I have to have skills already: That is certainly useful and welcome, but you can learn ‘on the job’ as well. Mainly you just have to be willing to participate and learn. There will be training on machines and programming and such for all members.

What is a mentor: A mentor is a volunteer adult advisor. They can help with engineering, programming, general organization, fundraising, etc.

How often does the team meet: Meeting schedules are decided by the team and mentors. At least once each month during ‘off-season’ to work on planning is advisable. Teams can choose to meet more frequently to do training or other preparations. During the 6 week building period, teams meet almost daily, although not every member makes every day.

What and when is ‘The Build’: ‘The Build’ is what teams call the 6 weeks they get to design and make their robot. It is an extremely busy and intense 6 weeks trying to create a machine to solve the task that FIRST comes up with, and problem-solve as problems come up. The FIRST Challenge (that year’s task) is announced in early January. The Build starts following that and goes into February.

How do you make a robot: You start with the basic kit provided by FIRST and add parts according to the design the team comes up with (within budget). There is a fair amount of trial and error and problem-solving when designs don’t quite transfer smoothly into reality. This is where mentors come in really handy.

What about costs: An estimate is that it takes $10,000 for a team to enter ONE regional. It is thousands more to go to another or to make it to nationals. Generally teams get one or more Sponsors from businesses in their community to cover most of these costs. This usually means making presentations. There will probably also be some member fundraising and/or charges to cover travel costs, meals, T-shirts, etc.

When and where are the competitions: There are regional competitions all over the U.S. Teams can enter as many Regionals as they want as long as they have the fees. The two closest to us are Seattle and Portland. Competitions can be held in any arena.

What is a competition like: Competitions last 3 days. There is a PIT area where teams work on their robots between heats. Heats have two Alliances (sets of teams that work together) that oppose each other. Points are awarded for success or taken away as penalties. There are preliminary heats for team practice, seeding heats where teams earn a ranking, then final rounds where the winners are determined. It is Fast, it is Furious and it is FUN!