Hoya Robotics has done it again, even better than before. With just six weeks to create a robot specific to an upcoming competition, they’ve built what they say is their best ever.
“This is probably the best build we’ve ever had,” said teacher Ian McTavish. “We are able to do all of the tasks (required for the competition), it can climb a rope four feet into the air. We’ve never been able to have our robot do some of these tasks before and we got it down before competition.”
McTavish said the multiple snow days this year helped with the build, giving students who were able to get to school safely the opportunity to spend uninterrupted hours working on the robot. In total, students and mentors put in more than 2,000 hours in six weeks to complete the robot, which they’ve named Trillium – the flowers three petals represent the teams’ chosen values of acceptance, resiliency and unity.
At the end of March, the robot will travel to Georgian College in Barrie for its first competition. Two weeks later, the team competes in North Bay. The scores they receive at those two tournaments will determine if the team earns a spot at the Ontario FIRST Robotics championships. A win there would get them to the world championships in St. Louis, Missouri.
In the meantime, the team is working on its pit cart which will hold all of the tools it might need at the competitions, and scouting out what other teams are doing in other competitions around the province.
See Trillium in action in the video below:
The community support for the team’s build this year has been phenomenal, says McTavish. Local companies have provided supplies, offered mentoring, and supported the team with processes like CNC machining. “The more awareness that is out there, the more opportunities for the students. We are trying to give kids opportunities – the more they go and public speak about technology and its impact, and what we’re doing to get more females into coding, the better chance they have at competition to win scholarships.”
Last year, Andrew Johnston – this year’s team captain – was a Dean’s List finalist at the FIRST Robotics Canada regional competition, an honour that also garnered him a $12,000 scholarship. This year, McTavish has nominated team members Sam Topps and Alora Hunnighan for the award.
Johnston, now in grade 11, says that he had a “very limited knowledge of robotics and engineering when I joined (the team). When I was in grade nine, it was just overwhelming and I didn’t know what to even ask to educate myself. The older members of the team were very good at explaining things to me and very patient when I didn’t understand something and now I’m happy to be able to do the same for the younger members.”
He thanked the team’s many sponsors for their help. Among those in attendance were Nancy and Dave Topps from Kimberly-Clark and local entrepreneur Kyle Boyko.
“If the team needs to see what a robot looks like, (Kimberly-Clark) will give the students a tour of the mill to give them an idea of what a robot can do,” said Topps. The company, which has been a steady sponsor for the team, also provides financial support and has offered time with its engineers as mentors.
Boyko is a new team mentor who has also hired some of the team’s students to help with programming and website development. “Why would I go and buy computer hardware that I don’t know how to work anyway? Why don’t we redirect the employment opportunity toward the kids?”
Sponsor support also helps the team to promote STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – to the community and younger students. Its TechnoGirls program – headed up this year by Alora Hunnighan – aims specifically to get girls interested in studying one of the STEM subjects. That kind of community outreach also positions the team for the prestigious Chairman’s Award at the competition.
The team competes at Georgian College in Barrie March 24-26 and at Nipissing University in North Bay April 6-8. Members of the public are welcome to attend and cheer on the students.
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