Roll up your sleeves, it's Robot Time!

I went down to what used to be Thomas Jefferson High School (and is now 4 different vocational-like high schools) to meet the Robotics team - JeffTech - for a discussion on strategy and tactics. We had a fairly fruitful meeting. A bit unfocused and disorganized, but we hit all the important points I wanted to talk about. Some of the students are very psyched about the competition, but some seem to be there because someone is making them. It's hard to engage those kids, but I will try my best to make a positive impact on all of them. The group decided together on a strategy for a robot that could drive around the track fast, but secure one of the huge balls as well for bonus points. Oh, and a mechanism to drop one of the balls from the top overpass onto the field. So, basically, as complex as one can get really; lots of moving parts... We'll see where tomorrow and next week take us. The kids got pretty creative with design sketches and ideas towards the end of the day, so I hope they come back with some great designs tomorrow.