Whiz Kids: Clawson Robotics Team Competes in County Events

Name: Clawson Robotics Team

School:

Accomplishment: The students won the "Most Improved" award at the Oakland County Competitive Robotics Association competition last week. The team "improved the ball feeding and delivery mechanisms to effectively score in the four corners," the results sheet said. 

Key to Awesomeness: The Robotics Team has spent the past six weeks designing a large robot and a "Vexbot," which has parts purchased from a company called Vex Robotics. The students have competed in Oakland County tournaments since October. In the tournaments, the teams are paired up with one another and the robots score by placing balls into goals while the opponents try to stop them. 

The teams are judged on design process and quality workmanship, faculty advisor Ryan Brinks said.

"A lot of teams have come a long way, so it's nice to see the hard work (Clawson has) put in paying off," Brinks said. "I’ve seen a couple students that have really stepped up on the team and taken active roles."

The students spend about 10 hours a week designing and improving the robots. The Clawson team, which has 20 students, makes modifications to the robots between events, Brinks said.

The county championship is at 9 a.m. Saturday at Holly High School.

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