Circuit Breakers gear up for robotics competition season

The Medical Lake High School Circuit Breakers robotics team is getting ready for competition season.

Since Christmas break, the team, which is in its third year, has worked four days a week on building a new robot for this year's FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics competition.

According to the FIRST website, this year's challenge is called "Recycle Rush," a game where teams score points by having their robots stack totes on scoring platforms, capping those stacks with recycling containers, and disposing pool noodles into the containers.

"There's an autonomous section where the robots operate on their own and try to collect materials to the zone (scoring platform)," Dennis Schweikhardt said. "The stacking part is teleoperated. The more you can stack, the more points your team scores."

Schweikhardt is one of the team's mentors. He said the students are using a new type of drivetrain for their robot.

"You think of tanks, but the wheels have wheels on them,"Schweikhardt said. "If you slow down you can make it curve. It's like a hockey puck on ice. You're not limited by your axles."

Students also added infrared and ultrasound sensors on the robot to detect obstacles and determine distance. They are programming their machine with the latest software and patches to comply with league standards.

Bernie Polikowsky, another of the club's mentors, said the team is also bringing its inventory of spare parts in case another school needs them.

"If a team needs something, officials will call out over the intercom," Polikowsky said. "Everyone is there to help each other out. FIRST has a motto called 'gracious professionalism.'"

While some of the students are working on the mechanical side of things, other members are focusing on the business aspect of the team.

"They are developing logos and creating buttons for the competition," Schweikhardt said. "Part of it is marketing and part of it is team spirit. It's to let everyone know who you are."

The business team is also putting together portfolios and presentations for meeting with potential sponsors. In the past, the majority of the team's funding was from a portion of the $1.3 million three-year Department of Defense grant the district received in 2012. Polikowsky said this is the last year the club will receive money from the grant.

"After this year we'll have to find a sponsor," Polikowsky said. "You can't run a team like this on carwashes, you have to have sponsors that can come up with $5,000 or $10,000."

The team's first competition will be March 5-7 at West Valley High School. They travel to Ellensburg to compete in the FIRST Robotics regional competition March 20-21 at Central Washington University. If the Circuit Breakers place in the top-third at that event, they will advance to the Pacific Northwest FIRST Robotics Championships April 2-4 at Eastern Washington University's Reese Court.

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].