PRC Robotics team competes

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Team CHAOS drivers and a mentor, pictured center in neon yellow shirts, watch as their robot successfully kicks a ball at the goal in a match on Friday. While the team did not win that match, by Saturday afternoon the team was in second place. By Jeremy Pittari/Item Staff Writer

March 6, 2010

By Jeremy Pittari, Item Staff Writer The Picayune Item Picayune Item Sat Mar 06, 2010, 06:51 PM CST

PICAYUNE — Pearl River County’s Robotics Team had a successful weekend in the Bayou Regional.

Friday the team was in fourth place, but by Saturday the team had climbed to second place with one more match to go before heading to the quarterfinals and finals. Team mentor Maureen Pollitz said even though the team had one match left before the finals, it looked like the team would be in the top eight. That position would enable the team to not only move on to the finals but also pick their own alliances.

“They’re all very excited,” Pollitz said.

To get that far the team had to deal with some issues beyond their control on Friday. Team CHAOS mentor Allen Forsman said the regional event was hit with some minor issues concerning the playing field. Team member Andrew Williams also said the entire competition was plagued with security coding issues. Once those issues were resolved the matches resumed and Team CHOAS’ robot was doing well.

Friday the team did hit a snag with the robot’s kicker, it froze in a match, keeping them from winning. Once the problem was fixed the team climbed the ranks to second place by Saturday afternoon.

This year’s game was called Breakaway. In each match robots would “kick” soccer balls into goals at either end of the playing field for points. At the end of the match a robot could lift itself onto a tower for extra points.

Williams, one of Team CHAOS’s four drivers, said their team’s autonomous mode, the short period in each match where the robot drives itself, was working well. CHAOS’ robot was also the only one at the regional competition to have a roller system to keep the soccer balls in place before “kicking” them into the goal. Team member Dylan Schram the roller garnered compliments from other teams and referees alike.

Team CHAOS staying ranked in the top eight enabled them to stay in the competition and move on to the semifinals. Just in case they didn’t make it to the top eight Schram said the team worked hard to develop a reputation amongst other teams to better their chances of being picked for an alliance in the finals.

Of course by Saturday their placement in the finals was all but guaranteed. Williams said the team was prepared to make the finals, so much so that on Friday the team was already taking notes on who would join their alliance in the finals.

Even though Team CHAOS’ robot was not constructed with the ability to lift it self off the ground for those extra points, the team did well. Williams said that ability was only worth 2 extra points at the end of the match, and the team felt they could score that many points in the 20 seconds it took to position and lift their robot at the end of a match.

This year’s competition was played a bit different by the team than in previous years. Instead of picking two dedicated drivers for the entire competition, the team switched between four, Matthew Lander, Williams, Zac Haller and Schram. Pollitz said the team implemented the rotating driver method well.

“They just need to keep doing what they’ve been doing,” Pollitz said Friday afternoon.

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