The robotics team has been hard at work for months on their newest project, a robot designed for the annual Boosting Science, Engineering, Technology (B.E.S.T.) competition. The competition challenges students to find a solution to real-world issues by designing robots out of basic materials and mechanisms. This year’s prompt, “Incision Decision,” asks students to design a multifunctional robot that could, if shrunken down, be used to perform many different kinds of surgeries. The team’s current design, which has largely been finalized, includes a large four-bar used to lift objects and a claw-like tool to grab them, among other features. The robot is still in the process of construction, but in the atrium of the Winn Science Center, they’ve already added many obstacles, including a group of three tubes used to simulate arteries in the heart. The team will later use these obstacles to test the robot’s performance in the simulated surgeries. After a long history of strong performances and a winning state last year, the team is looking forward to yet another achievement-filled competition.
