East Hamilton High winner Tanner DeRae, Jacob Kouvarakis and Ashton Lewis with Engineering Technology Division Dean Tim McGhee
An East Hamilton student competitor drives the robot on the playing field
Students from Ooltewah, East Hamilton and Central High schools in front of the VEX competition playing field
The Engineering Technology Division at Chattanooga State hosted the first VEX Robot Competition for high school age students in grades 9-12. Students participating from Ooltewah, East Hamilton and Central high schools spent several hours in Chattanooga State’s automation lab, carefully designing and building their robots in hopes of winning. That honor went to East Hamilton High School Team Tanner.
After observing the assembled robots, it became clear that this competition was as much about critical thinking skills as it was engineering design. Robots were built from parts that resemble erector set pieces and each one was different. Students prepared for the competition by learning how robots work and how to program them. After building several bots for practice, student teams built one for the Chattanooga State competition.
A raised floor made from plywood, sectioned off in grids, served as the playing field. Twelve tennis, golf and ping-pong balls sat outside the area. Robots controlled by designated student drivers picked up one ball at a time and dropped it onto the grid. Next, robots were guided to enter the grid via a ramp. Once on the grid, the challenge was to pick up any of the balls in the area and place them in one of five holders: one of two corner pockets, a raised table with edge, through a hole in a vertical wall, or on a tee made from PVC pipes. The corner pockets and raised table were the easiest challenges; however, that actually depended upon the robot design.
East Hamilton’s robot was built lower, wider and more like a tank that utilized jaw-like pliers to pick up the balls. On its way up the ramp, one of the treads came loose and had to be refitted, but once that was fixed, it was fairly easy to access the ramp and the driver was able to place several balls in the holders.
Competitors had eight minutes to pick up and drop the balls onto the grid, enter the playing area, retrieve the balls and place them in the holders. The power source was required to come from the motors provided in the VEX kit and batteries distributed on competition day.
This competition and collaboration was supported through Chattanooga State’s Faculty Fellows scholarship program that supports teaching, learning, and leadership development activities. Beth Ruta, Professor, Engineering Technology Department Head, and a Richard Lamerand Fellow collaborated on this competition with Lynda Pickett, an adjunct instructor and high school career and technology teacher at Ooltewah High School on the ENGR-1850 Introduction to Engineering Design course and a related course she teaches at the high school.
For more information about Engineering Technology or future VEX competitions, contact Beth Ruta at 423-697-4468 or visit https://www.chattanoogastate.edu/engineering-technology.