Whitewater Robotics held their own against the best the world has to offer. The Wildcats were among 800 teams from around the globe gathering in Dallas to compete at the VEX Robotics World Championship, billed as the largest robotics competition in the world.
The quartet of Owen Gutierrez, Tyler Klinger, Colby Shafer, and Thomas Weaver represented Whitewater, and they are coached by Jon Johnson.
The students designed their robot, built it, and did the programming. During the match, the first 15 seconds are autonomous; the students pre-program the robot and no driver control is allowed. After that time, students use controllers to drive the robot.
Teams earn points when their robots pick up discs and shoot them into goals. There are also points for turning rollers on the side of the field and for having the robot expand during the last 10 seconds of game play. Good teams play offense and defense to ensure that their team scores the most points.
The Cats earned their spot at worlds with a second place finish at the state competition earlier this year.
The team is always looking for mentors who can share their expertise in design, engineering, building, and programming. If you would like to learn more about how you can mentor the team, please email Jon Johnson at johnson.jon@fcboe.org.
