According to FIRST's website, after the engineering challenge is announced, students have six weeks to design, build, program and test their robots.
"Most of the teams we compete against are coming out of career centers in these larger schools," said Jim Hall, physics and FABLAB instructor at Fulton High School. "Here we have 23 students, and they all play a role."
Hall said that students take part in all elements of the competitions. There are electronics teams, drivers, mechanics, designers, programmers and a battery team. Once in competition, there is also a media/video specialist and an ambassador who greets judges, safety inspectors and visitors to the team's "pit.'
The other unique aspect of Fulton's team #5147 is that they do all the work in-house. All the metal cutting, CNC fabrication and aluminum welding are all done via the FABLAB and shop by the students. According to Hall, many schools source this portion of the construction outside their own schools.
On Wednesday, March 2, the team's robot was "unveiled" for a promotional event, and it was given a test run, though the students who will be "driving" in competition could not display their talents as the event was outside the initial six-week period. Other team members put the robot through its paces of crossing a wooden bridge, shooting a ball through a goal and raising a gate, all in-house constructed simulations of the official siege field.
The students noted how far they have come-both technologically and strategically-over the three years they have been competing.
"Of the five seniors I have, four of them are going on to school in engineering," said Hall. "As a teacher, this is why we do it. This is preparing the students for their future."
Hall would like community members to get involved as mentors to the program. He said that most teams have community mentors, which allows students to gain more knowledge and have access to other professionals in the field. He said mentors do not have to be engineers, they just need to have experience in the aspects of construction such as fabrication, the use of hand-tools, pipe-fitters or machine workers.
Fulton High School's Robotics Team will compete March 10 -12 in St. Louis as part of the regional FIRST Robotics Competition. This year's theme is Stronghold; teams must design a robot that will mimic the siege of a medieval castle. Obstacles include crossing a bridge, shooting a ball at a castle tower and raising a barrier with a robotic arm.