Goodrich robots fight for the win

Having beat the teams in their own classes, the top eighth-grade robotics squads at Goodrich Middle School squared off on Tuesday to see who had the speed and strategy to take the overall title. Having learned how to program their Lego Mindstorm robots over the past weeks, teams of students were challenged to work together to achieve a goal, while preventing other teams from achieving the same goal. On Tuesday, that goal was following a simple black line from one end of the classroom to the other.

Jesse Andres, the eighth-grade robotics teacher, explained that in a less chaotic environment, the ultimate task was simple. The robots had sensors on the bottom that helped them follow the line and once on it, they could easily follow it to the end. Of course, this was not that easy. For one, the floor had natural lines in it that could confuse the robots. Second, not every member of each team was trying to make it to the finish line. Instead, some were programming their robots to leave their lines and disrupt opponent robots. For a team to win, it would need some speed, some conniving and some luck.

The students first did a trial run with no winners. Then, with only a few seconds left in class, a second race was held and a winning team was declared.