‘Kentucky Wildbots’ amping up for 2017 First Robotics competition

The Kentucky Wildbots are gearing up for another run in the FIRST Robotics Competition with hopes of making it to the world competition in St. Louis, Missouri.

The challenge this year is to build a robot that can climb, haul and shoot softball sized whiffle balls, and transport gears.

The game called “Steamworks” calls for teams of three robots to load the fuel in the form of whiffle balls into the boiler to build up the pressure high enough to power the team’s airship.

Additional gears are needed to complete the chains to spin all four of the rotors on the airship. Teams receive additional points for each rotor they are able to have spinning by the end of the match.

Finally, toward the end of the match, ropes will be lowered from each airship to permit the team’s robots to climb aboard. The team scores even more points for each robot that successfully makes the climb.

“This is the most ambitious robot I have been involved with,” said Lynn Camp High School teacher Roger Riquelme, who is coaching the team. “We are trying to do everything.”

Riquelme, who took over the program when teacher Arthur Canada retired, said while his team of students are relatively young, they are a hardworking bunch.

“They don’t throw in the towel,” Riquelme said.

Junior Sebastian Weddle is in his third official year on the team. Weddle is part of the group of students tasked with designing and assembling the gearbox that will drive the robot and allow it to climb the rope.

“It has been a real inspiration,” said Weddle of his time on the team adding that it has reinforced his desire to become amechanical electrical engineer.

Weddle said the design has been a challenge not only because of the multiple required tasks, but also because of the small amount of space allocated.

The Wildbots will be wrapping up their official build time on the competition robot this week. After that, the robot will be packed away until the regional competition March 22-25 at Thompson Bowling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The team will have a practice robot that it will continue to work with in the interim to allow the drivers to use and to finish any remaining pieces needed for the competition bot.

The top three robots, plus one wildcard earn the right to go on to the First Robotics World Competition in St. Louis, Missouri.

A demonstration of this year’s competition may be viewed online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMiNmJW7enI