Members of the Glenelg High School Robotics Team, Team 888, spent their spring break traveling to robotics competitions. Team 888 is a small team, compared to some of the others at these competitions. The members worked for weeks leading up to the competitions, designing, building and testing a robot. The robot had to perform certain tasks, so the students also built parts of the game equipment to test the robot out and ensure he would be up for competition.

On March 14 and 15, the team competed at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Chesapeake Regional Robotics Competition.

The event took place at the U.S. Naval Academy, in Annapolis. Competing were 60 teams from all over the country and even two from the United Kingdom.

The alliance of Glenelg's Team 888, the Robotiators, Team 1111-Hawk Bot, from Edgewater, and Team 88 - TJ2, from Bridgewater, Mass., made it through to the finals (only six teams on two alliances compete in the finals) and came in second.

This event was based on the FIRST Robotics 2008 FRC Challenge, FIRST Overdrive.

FIRST Overdrive is played on a 54- by 27-foot track divided by a fence into red and blue sides. The fence is crossed by an overpass marking the red and blue finish lines. Two, three-team alliances race around the track in a counter clockwise direction manipulating trackballs.

The first 15 seconds of play is the hybrid period in which robots are autonomous, and may also respond to digital signals sent by team Robocoaches stationed at the corners of the track.

During the hybrid period, robots traveling in a counter clockwise direction score various levels of points when each of their two trackballs are knocked off of or passed over the overpass, their robot crosses a line on the track, or their trackball crosses their finish line.

The next two minutes of play is the teleoperated period. At this time, robots are radio controlled by team operators standing at either end of the field. During this period, robots traveling in a counter-clockwise direction score whenever their robot or trackball crosses their finish line, their trackball passes over their overpass or if their trackballs that are positioned anywhere on the overpass at the end of the match.

FIRST founder Dean Kamen, spoke at the awards ceremony, emphasizing the need for the next generation to take on engineering, science and technology for the future of our country.

Kamen is well known as the CEO of DEKA, developer of high tech devices such as the IBOT, a new generation of wheel chair that is able to climb stairs.

Next, the team traveled to Allendale, Mich., to compete in the FIRST West Michigan Regional March 20-23. This was a very tough competition, as many of the local Michigan teams are sponsored by auto manufactures and big corporations.

Although the robots are still operated by high school students, many of the teams have access to corporate facilities. The small Glenleg team held its own against these tough competitors. Team 888 was selected for the playoffs and their alliance won the first elimination round, however, lost out after two more matches.

Glenelg team 888 members competing at these competitions included Nick Kratzmeier, James Wissman, Andrew Kratzmeier, Alex Edgerton, Mike Mascaro, Steve DiBenedetto, Matthew Hinkle, Billy Loveless, Sam Castelli, Frankie Brigante and Chris Finley. The team is coached by Glenelg math and engineering teacher Dean Sheridan.

Team members are looking forward to one more competition this summer -- the Baltimore Blast -- a competition for local teams to come together and compete.

While the competitions are fun, they are also a great learning experience. The FIRST robotics motto is "gracious professionalism" and inspiring young people in technology is the purpose, not winning or losing.

I recently heard from Lindsay Amos, an eighth-grade science teacher at Glenwood Middle School. The school is extremely proud of two of its eighth-grade students, Chris Swetz and Melissa Shaughness, who recently participated in the Maryland State Science Fair, in Baltimore.

The two were given several special awards at the state science fair March 29. Chris' project was "The Effect of the Number of Coils in an Inductive Read/Write Lead on the Quality of Recording with a Wire Recorder." He won the Allen Davis Memorial Award for an Outstanding Project, which included a $100 award, the U.S. Army Certificate of Excellence, Scientific American Outstanding Achievement Award, Innovative Engineering Award, and National Security Agency Award.

Melissa's project is titled "The Effect of SPF and Brand of Sunblock on Sunblock Effectiveness." She won a Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge Award and was given an honorable mention award in Physical Science. She also qualified to present her project at the National Science Fair competition in Washington, D.C., in October.

Congratulations to both of our great students for their outstanding science achievements!

user comments (0)