Huntington High School’s robotics team has been busy preparing for the upcoming season. The group has simultaneously been engaged in several community service activities along with building their membership ranks.
Founded in 2013, Huntington Robotics has repeatedly reached the FIRST World Championships and captured many other honors and awards. The team is for everyone, not just technological or engineering wizards. The program has so many distinct aspects to it that those who might not even be scientifically or mathematically inclined can find a very welcoming home on FIRST Team 5016, as the squad is officially known.
The competitive season will kick-off on Saturday, January 9 with the worldwide unveiling of this year’s game theme. To participate in the opening day festivities, click on this link: https://forms.gle/iezL1XDot7Tr5YsW8
The Blue Devils are led by Alex Frawley (captain), Luke Rinaldi (vice-captain), Sydney Cordeiro (chief business officer) and Anthony Amitrano (chief technical officer).
“After school we have continued to hold virtual meetings and have used this time to teach programming, business and technical skills to our team members,” Mr. Frawley said. “In programming, we’ve been writing code in Java, starting at the basics and then introducing more complex ideas. We’ve also been looking at and learning from code from previous years robots to get a better understanding of how the systems work.”
On the technical side of things, Huntington Robotics has using the cloud based computer animated design program Onshape, to sculpt different items such as a bolt, ruler and name plate to propel the team’s creative and engineering abilities. Using the application has given team members the opportunity of sketching and animating a robot prototype.
“In business we’ve been charging into new information prepping our business students for a productive season,” Mr. Frawley said. “The coordination, delegation and execution of objectives has been our main focus. This has been a great success with keeping the team engaged and helping our members learn new skills.”
Huntington Robotics has also been busy in the community, participating in the Friends of Huntington Station Latin Quarter toy drive. Team members purchased wrapped and delivered gifts to help the families of ten children enjoy their holidays together.
In early December the team collected non-perishable food items for a Girl Scout troop so it could help feed local families.
Huntington Robotics also helped facilitate the creation of a 65 foot illuminated tree and reindeer for the Huntington Holiday Spectacular in the heart of the village. “This was an interactive and fun event for our team and allowed us to work together while adhering to COVID guidelines,” Mr. Frawley said.
Students interested in joining the Blue Devil robotics squad can send a message to huntingtonrobotics@gmail.com. Visit the team’s website at www.team5016.com for more information.
The Huntington Robotics parent organization is also looking for mentors to work with team members. Interested? Send a message to huntingtonroboticsinc@gmail.com.