Toward the end of 2016, a group of future engineers came together at Chattanooga State and won a robotics competition for the second year in a row. But these students don’t yet attend the college where they outperformed their peers, they’re still in high school.
Six of East Hamilton High School’s 10 Robotics Club students successfully maneuvered the robot they created to pick up balls of various sizes and score points by getting each to its corresponding goal in Chattanooga State’s VEX State Robotics Competition.
“It might not sound as exciting as, say, ‘Battlebots,'” said engineering and robotics club teacher Eric Thomas, referring to the popular TV show where custom-made robots fight in a tournament-style brawl. “This is your robot against the time and not each other, but it’s a lot of work and skill.”
The students, some of whom had participated in the competition in prior years with the club, had one hour to practice before the event began with the robot they designed and built themselves.
“We were very excited,” Thomas said of the win. “I’m very proud of the students. They can use this on an application to college. It’s hugely beneficial to them.”