SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – It’s always a bit of a challenge getting to all the exciting events going on in a given day, but this one was easy, as the fantastic SHS robotics team was competing in the Harrington Auditorium at WPI, right next door to where the Shrewsbury science students were competing in the science fair! In this case, it was a simple walk next door, and we were able to check out the wonderful work this group was up to as well.

I had never been to a robotics event for the Shrewsbury MA robotics team, and so this was pretty exciting for me.   It’s really something that has to be seen to be believed.  As best as I could tell, the goal was to design a robot that would be able to grab on to an inflatable inner tube, lift it up 9 feet in the air, and plate it onto a tall post.  While doing that, I believe your robot also needs to defend itself from other robots who are after you.  Considering how long it took me to figure out how to make a lego robotics kit work, the fact that this can even be done by kids at Shrewsbury MA High School is mesmerizing.  It’s something I hope to learn a lot more about down the road because I finally have a son that’s interested in it and hopes to compete, so I’m sure in no time at all we’ll be swapping out our basement science project for a robotics bench!

These events are incredibly intense and competitive. In fact, according to team advisor Shrewsbury resident Callan McInally, the students need to complete construction of their robot weeks before the event, after which their robot is taken away from them and embargoed by the tournament, to prevent them from working on it any more.   After the tournament, it is again sequestered in it’s case, until the team heads off to Toronto for the next competition.   In short, the design needs to be well thought out in advance, because once it’s done, it’s done!  The other key, from what a team member told me today, is to have spare parts galore and be able to swap them out on the spot. As the competition progressed, they lost communication with several key components of their robot and had to delve into their parts bin and start changing things out right and left before the next event.

Shrewsbury High School has always had a fantastic presence at these competitions, thanks to a team of wonderful and brilliant parent advisors, and hard working, innovative students.  I definitely need to learn more about how these things work, because it’s always been a particular fascination of mine. If you get a chance, head on over to WPI for day two of the competition tomorrow (Saturday) and cheer on the amazing Shrewsbury Massachusetts team.