Category Archives: Robotics

Buckingham robotics team preps for Capital City Classic – Daily Republic

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By Buckingham PR Team

Buckingham Charter Magnet High School’s Robo Knights are gearing up for the Capital City Classic at Davis High School on Oct. 27-28.

The Capital City Classic is an off-season tournament for all teams to gear up for the new season of competition starting just after the new year.

“Cap City is always an adventure. It’s a great way to show off and get started with the new season,¨ said A.J. Clifford, president of the Robo Knights.

The Robo Knights will battle with other North Bay teams. Veteran competitors enjoy the return to competition, and newcomers can dip their feet into the water and experience the excitement of robotics games.

Source: School Event: Buckingham robotics team preps for Capital City Classic

Armijo High School Inspiring Engineers One Student At A Time – Daily Republic

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By Tim Goree

This year, Armijo’s FRC robotics team went to the World Wide robotics competition in Houston, Texas. Even though the team was formed last year, they have gone to the World Wide competition twice. In their first year, they won the “All-Star Rookie of the year” award, which qualified them to go to Worlds. This year, they place second in the Sacramento Regionals at Davis, California and was given a “Wild Card”, which qualified them for Worlds, yet again.

The FRC (FIRST) team is actually a branch of Armijo’s robotics program, which was formed four years ago. Another branch of Armijo Robotics (VEX) also qualified for Worlds, which took place in Louisville, Kentucky. Originally, the program only supported VEX teams, but over the years, the students formed a FIRST team in order to further their engineering skills. The VEX branch provided a foundation for the students to learn coding, designing, and building while the FIRST branch allows them to build upon this foundation in a more complex setting.

Source: Armijo High School Inspiring Engineers One Student At A Time

‘Sir Elton John’ wants to win robotic worlds; needs funds – The Reporter

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By RoboKnights

Perseverance. Teamwork. Excellence. These few words describe robotics team 5496.

The RoboKnights are a four-year team based out of Buckingham High School in Vacaville. In this build season alone, they have spent 200-plus hours building their robot named, Sir Elton John.

Team members have already attended two regionals in Davis and Boise, Idaho this season, placing sixth and ninth, respectively. After placing so high in Davis, the RoboKnights were put into a lottery in hopes of competing at World Competitions in Houston, Texas.

Source: ‘Sir Elton John’ wants to win robotic worlds; needs funds

Buckingham robotics team needs cash to pay for Houston competition – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

That’s how much the students at the Bella Vista Road campus need to raise by 5 p.m. Monday in order to defray costs of their going to the FIRST Championship, Wednesday to April 21, in Houston, Texas. (The acronym FIRST is For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, an international youth organization that operates the FIRST Robotics Competition, among others.)

RoboKnight member Katelyn Kielhorn on Thursday said the team has raised, to date, nearly $3,000 of the $16,000 in expenses to send the team to the Lone Star State, where they will compete in what is commonly known as “a varsity sport for the mind.”

In recent days, Kielhorn, a sophomore, has been sending requests for corporate sponsorships, and the team, founded five years ago, has held bake sales and garage sales in their efforts to raise the additional $13,000.

Source: Buckingham robotics team needs cash to pay for Houston competition

Armijo robotics team gears up for national competition – Daily Republic

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By Amy Maginnis-Honey

Armijo High School freshman Joel Ward held the remote for the 824Z, robot demonstrating its ability to pick up small cones and stack them one on top of the other.

Fellow freshmen Leonard Torres and John Siy operated the 824H robot as it maneuvered around the classroom on a recent afternoon.

They, and fellow robotics team members, hope for community support as the team returns to the VEX Robotics Competition April 25-28 in Louisville, Kentucky.

More than 500 teams representing 30 countries are expected.

Robotics have given freshman Jayden Tiemann a better understanding of academics and how components work in real life, he said. Being involved with the team and robotics class has introduced him to new friends.

Source: Armijo robotics team gears up for national competition

RoboKnights Push Through Week Three Of Build Season – Daily Republic

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By The Buckingham PR Team

Still pushing through build season during the third week, the RoboKnights are working hard through each day. Still continuing the game of Power Up, the RoboKnights hope to finish their bot by the end of this week. Although the progress on the bot is moving smoothly, the PR department has since moved forward with the construction and painting of the pit for competition.

This year for the RoboKnights have taken a big step towards progress, they decided to take the initiative and expand their workspace. In previous years the space was taken up by a gymnastics center, and it has since been out of business, leaving the area to those who need the space and can afford it. The Buckingham High School has previously used this space for their own large events, such as Noche De Los Muertos by the Spanish classes.

Source: Class News: RoboKnights Push Through Week Three Of Build Season

Students show skills at middle school robotics competition – Daily Republic

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By Susan Hiland

Chichi Iheandado, 13, is a coach who helps calm things down and figures out ways to resolve problems among her teammates.

Chichi and her Golden West Middle School teammates are competing for the second year in the VEX Robotics Competition, which the school hosted Saturday.

The VEX Robotics Competition, presented by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, is the ultimate science, technology, engineering and mathematics activity for middle school and high school students, ages 11 to 18.

An engineering challenge is presented each year in the form of a game. Students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors, use the VEX Robotics Design System to build innovative robots designed to score the most points possible in qualification matches, elimination matches and skills challenges, according to RobotEvents.com, which tracks the events.

Source: Students show skills at middle school robotics competition

Buckingham VEX Robotics get in the zone on Saturday – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

In the last competition before the holiday, the Buckingham RoboKnights VEX four teams will compete against other schools for VEX’s “In the Zone.”

The event will take place Saturday at the Vanden High School gym, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in Fairfield.

“Each team will use their capable engineering skills to gain a higher score than their opponents by stacking cones on goals, scoring mobile goals in zones, having the highest stacks, and parking robots” VEX coordinator Sean O’Bra said.

Source: Buckingham VEX Robotics get in the zone on Saturday

RoboKnights announce first Lego event in Vacaville – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

The Buckingham Charter Magnet High School RoboKnights have kicked off their new season and now they’re reaching out to the community by hosting an event for the smaller Robo children in the league.

The First Lego League offers an opportunity for children in elementary and middle schools to compete in robotics competitions that are geared toward young minds.

“These young teams are encouraged to think like scientists and engineers to solve real-world problems,” Logan Malaney, RoboKnights president, said in a statement. “And we get to guide them along the way.”

Source: RoboKnights announce first Lego event in Vacaville

Vanden Robotics Team prepare to visit China to share STEM Robotics Curriculum – Daily Republic

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Sixteen students from Vanden High School in Fairfield, CA, will be traveling to Beijing, Shanghai, and Ningbo this November 18-26, 2017. The students will conduct presentations and demonstrations to Beijing Economic Management High School and Jiaxing Sichuan Vocational College in Jiaxing, with the goal of building up a competitive and sustainable robotics curriculum programs in their respective communities.

These local robotics students will not only put their robot building and programming knowledge to the test but will also employ unique presentation skills, tying together academic language in English with elements of the Mandarin language. The support will not end with their visit, but will continue during the following year, providing support and resources by email and Skype. While in China, the students will also tour the sites of Shanghai, Terracotta Soldiers in Xi’an, and Beijing including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.

Source: Local High School Robotics Team prepare to visit China to share STEM Robotics Curriculum

Buckingham Robo Knights start new year this weekend with high spirits – Daily Republic

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By Buckingham PR Team

The Buckingham Charter Magnet High School Robotics team is gearing up for another successful year.

“This will be an exciting year,” says team Vice President Natalie LaRowe. “The Robo Knights are ready to build on last year’s season when we competed at the World Championships in Houston. This year, we intend to win!”

On Nov. 4, from 6-8 p.m., the Robo Knights will host their annual Spaghetti Feed fundraiser to support the team. The Robo Knights will serve fresh, homemade pasta dishes, salad, garlic bread, and ice cream floats, all for $10. The event features live and silent auctions, and the Robo Knights will demonstrate their robots.

Source: Buckingham Robo Knights start new year this weekend with high spirits

Fairfield-Suisun schools spur state law to pay for student field trips – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation by Assemblyman Jim Frazier allowing school districts to pay for student field trips to other states – a measure spurred by Fairfield-Suisun School District students competing in a robotics event in Kentucky.

“I thank Fairfield-Suisun School District for bringing the need for this legislation to my attention,” Frazier said in a press release.

“School districts have been explicitly prohibited from using funds to help students participate in field trips or educational excursions out of state,” said Frazier, D-Discovery Bay. “AB 341 changes this, allowing schools to use district funds to enhance educational opportunities by increasing access to student resources.”

Source: Fairfield-Suisun schools spur state law to pay for student field trips

Bold explorers of robotics, biotechnology – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Sitting on a stool in a Will C. Wood High School science room Friday, Edwin Gomez Perez, 10, used a remote hand-held device to control several linkbots, small softball-sized plastic robots, their wheels and gears whirring quietly on the floor in front of him.

Nearby, standing at a table, Benjamin Rocha, 10, guided a linkbot across the table’s surface as a half-dozen people, classmates and a parent, looked on as the ’bot rolled a few inches in a straight line, then took a half-right turn.

Meanwhile, a few moments later in an adjacent science room and lab at the Marshall Road campus, Alex Vales, 11, spoke softly with his father, Anthony, who heard his son explain how bacteria thrive — at least in a sealed Petri dish.

Source: Bold explorers of robotics, biotechnology

Area high school robotics teams tally mixed results at world championships – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Vacaville-area high school robotics teams posted mixed results but gained immeasurable experience at the 2017 FIRST Robotics World Championships, The Reporter has learned.

Held in Houston last week, Wednesday through Saturday, the competition yielded the final tallies, with the RoboVikes from Vanden High, in the 67-team Galileo division, in 13th place; the RoboKnights from Buckingham Charter High in 43rd in the Hopper division; and the Armijo High Robotics squad in 66th, also in the Galileo division.

Long a robotics powerhouse and mentor to other robotics teams, the RoboVikes, veterans of several world championship runs, ended up in first place after the first day of competition, Thursday, in the George Brown Convention Center, for essentially a STEM face-off that attracted 400 teams (in five divisions) from the West and South and from several foreign countries, including Australia, China and Turkey. (Because the championship has grown in popularity, another round of championship matches is this coming weekend in St. Louis.)

Source: Area high school robotics teams tally mixed results at world championships

Vanden, Armijo, Grange students show off their ‘bots’ – Daily Republic

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By Todd R. Hansen

Gabby Hansen found her calling because she and her friends wanted something to do after school.

That journey started five years earlier, in eighth grade, and now the Vanden High senior is looking at a future in the cutting-edge robotics field.

“I don’t think any of us realized how much it would impact our futures,” Hansen said.

“The robotics program is a lot more than robotics,” Hansen said.

Her personal and leadership skills have been enhanced by her time in the program, she said.Hansen was joined by other students from Vanden and Armijo high schools, as well as students from Grange Middle School who demonstrated their robot skills Tuesday before the Board of Supervisors.

Source: Vanden, Armijo, Grange students show off their ‘bots’

Robotics students get $500 contribution toward trips – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Fundraisers begin Monday for Fairfield-Suisun School District students to participate in robotics competitions in Houston and Kentucky.

The first fundraiser will take place Monday at Mary’s Pizza Shack in Fairfield, with events to follow April 14 at Panda Express and May 3 at Chipotle.

School district trustees meeting Thursday reviewed a waiver of state law to allow the district to help pay for a $20,767 trip by eight students at Grange Middle School and Armijo High School to compete in the VEX Robotics World Championship scheduled April 19-22 in Kentucky.

Source: Robotics students get $500 contribution toward trips

District eyes $20,767 trip to Kentucky for robotics competition – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

A waiver of state law will allow the Fairfield-Suisun School District to help pay for a $20,767 trip by eight students at Grange Middle School and Armijo High School to compete in the VEX Robotics World Championship scheduled April 19-22 in Kentucky.

Sheila McCabe, school district spokeswoman, said Tuesday that students are raising money for the trip.

The estimated trip costs includes three staff members.

Source: District eyes $20,767 trip to Kentucky for robotics competition

Vanden, Armijo robotics squads qualify for world championship – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Houston, we do not have a problem, because the Vanden and Armijo high school robotics teams have qualified for world high school robotics championship April 19 to 22 in Houston, Texas.

The RoboVikes and the Armijo Robotics squads earned enough points during the Sacramento Regional Robotics Competition Saturday at the University of California, Davis, to make the trip to the George Brown Convention Center in the Lone Star State’s largest city.

Doug Green, the longtime RoboVikes adviser, was clearly elated during an interview Monday, as he and the students prepared for still more competition this weekend at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho.

Source: Vanden, Armijo robotics squads qualify for world championship

Local teams battle it out at regional Robotics competition – The Reporter

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By Dom Pruett

Four local high school robotics teams were among the 56 represented at the 15th Annual FIRST Robotics Competition Sacramento Regional Saturday at UC Davis.

The field of 56, which was comprised of teams from high schools in California, Hawaii, and Nevada, included Vanden’s RoboVikes, Vacaville’s RoboDogs, the Robo Knights of Buckingham Charter Magnet High School, and Armijo Robotics from Armijo High School.

The FIRST, short for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” Robotics Competition placed three teams together, dubbed an “adventure club,” and pitted them against another trio of teams during a match referred to this year as FIRST STEAMWORKS. The objective: accumulate as many points as possible with your team’s robot.

Source: Local teams battle it out at regional Robotics competition

Vanden robotics squad preps for regional competitions – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Will Ragnarok — a motorized, whirring, ball-shooting machine that scoots across a floor like a Tasmanian devil — take down the competition in Sacramento and Boise?

A name derived from Norse mythology, the Vanden High School robotics team’s creation certainly looked formidable, that’s for sure, in a practice round earlier this week in a nondescript portable building on the Markeley Lane campus in Fairfield.

Led by president Connor Thrasher, a senior with a 4.74 weighted GPA, the team was within hours Tuesday night of completing its “build season” and required to literally shrink wrap their competition ’bot before facing off against dozens of other teams at the Sacramento and Boise competitions.

Source: Vanden robotics squad preps for regional competitions