Page 6 IN-DEPTH ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS Vol. 3, Issue 2NEWS OPINIONS FEATURES Friday, November 9, 2012 IN-DEPTH ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS Page 7NEWS OPINIONS FEATURES

By Connor Luedtke , reporter

At the end of the school, past the end of the language and math departments, a tiny room lays filled with screws nuts, bars, saws, and every tiny part in between. Strewn across this little room, students sit around pieces trying to figure out how everything will work. Before the robotics team can compete, they

have to build their robot. The team watches a video posted by the vex robotics competition which explains their challenge. This year, robots have to move a series of sacks into troughs. Different troughs and sacks give players different points. “When we were building the robot, the main problem was how to start in an 18 inch cube then be able to pick the sacks up,” Joseph Paetz, junior, said. When the team builds the robot, they have to start from scratch using a limited amount of material. The team, two years ago non-existent, buys their parts with money given to them by the Elkhorn Foundation. “We couldn’t do this without the Elkhorn Foundation,” Kim Johnson,

sponsor, said. Parts don’t always fit the way they should. “One thing that’s hard is getting circles to get into squares,” Collin Peterson, junior, said. When the team encounters a problem, they all give their inputs, discuss different options, decide their course of actions, and then split the tasks. “There is just a lot of working together and weighing out different op-tions,” Paetz said.

The team completed their robots just two days before their first competition, Nov. 3. The competition consists of two rounds. In the first, teams get matched with a team from a different school. They have to work together and fight two other schools. In the second round, the top teams are seated to battle each other for the winner. “At the beginning of the day, we have to talk to the teams about their robots and their capabilities. We see if their robot will work well with ours,” Paetz said.

Last year, the team won the state robotics competition with one team and one robot. This year, the team has two robots and two teams, but they all help each other to get their problems solved. “I like robotics because it helps me think visually. What you learn in school programming is all digital,” Paetz said. “In robotics, you build the program and then you see it done in front of you, which is cool.”

Many groups have brought home state cham-pionships to Elkhorn South. One group has even represented The Storm at a national champion-ship competition. The Elkhorn South Robotics Club is head-ing into its second year after a debut season climaxing with an appearance at the National Championships. Joseph Paetz, junior, participated last year and is excited about the new challenge that this year brings. “Our robot this year is required to pick up beanbags and place them on elevated troughs”. One of the major changes to the Robotics program this year is the addition of a second team. Due to the increasing number of students interested in the school’s robotics program, two robots are being built for the 2012 season. The teams will participate in two types of competitions; both consisting of two robots tak-ing on two robots. One type of competition consists of an Elkhorn South group competing together with another school and attempting to get a faster completion time than their opponents. The other version is carried out in the same format, but with the top teams competing to see which schools have the better robots. “I like solving problems through robotics and thinking in a logical way. Mrs. Johnson wanted to find another outlet for students to solve dif-ferent challenges”. The Elkhorn South Robotics Club meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30-5:30 in Room E127. Paetz is looking forward to the year as they prepare for another round of competitions. “I’m very excited for this next year and can’t wait to see what both of the teams will be able to accomplish,” said Paetz.

Students battle to their minds’ limits

KUTA WORKS THE WHEEL: Kuta Ganesan, senior, tries to get one of the wheels for the robot to work before their first competition in the robotic’s room. The team had problems getting the robot’s pieces to work together. Ganesan has been on the team for two years so she has more experience than some other members. Photo by KayLee Flower

THE UNFINISHED ARM: In the robotic’s room, Joseph Paetz, junior, tries to figure out how the robot’s arm will work in the competition. The robot hadn’t been put together yet and they needed to predict how the robot would move. Paetz is one of the team’s captains. Photo by KayLee Flower

Elkhorn South has state-winning robotics team

There is just a lot of workingtogether.

Joseph Paetz, junior“

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By KayLee Flower, reporter

Graphic by KayLee Flower, reporter

FORK LIFT: a capturing device that picks up the sacks

OMNI WHEEL: moves the robot. Rollers slide the robot sideways

Motors: moves the wheels SENSOR: identifies if the robot is

being operated with or without a driver

CHAIN, MOTOR, AND GEAR: raises the fork lift to move the sacks

Source Collin Peterson

Joseph Reger, junior; Collin Peterson, junior Josh Adams, sophomore Michael Le, senior Kuta Ganesan, senior Kuta Ganesan, senior; Michael Le, senior Joseph Reger, junior Joseph Paetz, junior

ElkhornSouthHighSchool

KayLeeFlower