Robot Takeover

H.E.A.T., Hornet Engineering and Technology, is not just about robotics. It includes a lot of different options for students to participate in STEM activities, including building robots, participating in rocket teams, flying drones and building in the shop. 

However, robotics is a big part of the organization, and the competitive VEX robotics team recently qualified for state. Of the four Bryant teams competing, two received four awards and an invite. The two teams are now preparing their bots to perform.

“We have a laser engraver and a lot of high tech equipment for students to use in projects,” Engineering teacher Dexter Barksdale said. “Anybody can join H.E.A.T. and get involved.”

The two state-qualifying robotics teams are called “Damos 2” and “Maxima.” Many of the robots’ names are based on mythological gods: Athena, Damos, Phobos. It’s a trend that caught on at Bryant when the robotics team was new. While this is where “Damos 2” originated from, the other team’s name doesn’t follow the tradition. 

“The other team is obsessed with Nissans, so that’s where their name comes from,” Barksdale said. “One of the team members kind of turned it into an inside joke within the team, so they named it ‘Maxima’ after the Nissan Maxima.”

Junior Tristan Matthews, who joined robotics in 8th grade, is on team “Maxima.” He competed with other students to drive the robot, and since then has been the designated operator.

“Building robots and programming is pretty cool, and I do like going to competitive engineering every day, but I think the best part is that every time we have a competition, it doesn’t matter if we win or lose, it’s the memories we make,” Matthews said. “Not every competition is the same. It’s not always going to be a sweep, and it’s not always a complete defeat. You make friends with other schools and people on those teams, so sometimes it is more about the comradery you have.”

The teams practice during 7th period and every Monday and Wednesday after school from 5-5:30 p.m. Their competition season is mainly in January or February, and state is usually in March or April. 

However, they competed in a competition in McGee Oct. 26, which is where they received their state bid. Matthews says their chances of doing well at state are promising.

“From the intel Jake [Fannon, Maxima team captain,] has collected from going to other places and seeing our main competitors, there’s a 60-70% chance for us to do good,” Matthews said. “Last year, we made it to state, and I made a mistake by shooting one of the opposing teams and getting us disqualified. We really want to go to Worlds this year, because this is [“Damos 2” team captain senior] Chris [Osborne]’s last year on high school robotics, and I really want to win for him especially, but also I want to win for my team. We’re trying to prove ourselves as a competitive program.”

Osborne has inspired Matthews throughout this year. Osborne joined robotics in middle school, so although this is not his first year in H.E.A.T., his experience this year has differed because he is now a team captain.

“I have a more authoritative role, so people look up to me more often,” Osborne said. “It’s kind of scary, but exciting at the same time. I try to be a role model so that the underclassmen can follow the example.”

Osborne, like the others, is hopeful to go to the World championship. For him, it means even more, because it is his last chance.

“Last year, we were in an upset and didn’t win state and go to Worlds, which was the first time in seven years, so we would really like to go again,” Osborne said.

Unlike many of his students, Barksdale just recently learned about robotics. His first introduction was in the spring of 2018, when he knew he would take on the role of robotics sponsor as an engineering teacher. He went to a few professional development opportunities; however, he didn’t really learn about competitions and how the game was played until he started attending them.

“It’s pretty addictive to go to competitions,” Barksdale said. “You show up and recognize a lot of teams from around the state, because there are online group chats, and everyone has been building. It’s innovation fueled with competition, and it’s a really contagious environment.”

H.E.A.T. blends competition with academics as well as building and improving every day. These were also reasons why Barksdale gained an interest in being a sponsor.

“Being a sponsor, you really get a taste of it all,” Barksdale said. “I really like the kids and the activities and the things we do. I’m here as a bystander on a lot of things, like the robots. I don’t build robots or anything; I just offer advice and am here to make sure things are done safely. To help drive teams and coach them up is probably my primary duty.”

Both teams that qualified for state identified areas of weakness in the bots after the competition. They have a notebook of roughly 75 to 100 pages of documentation that they have been working on since the dawn of the teams. They are constantly thinking of ways to improve the bots, what is working and what is not. 

They are also constantly getting new ideas, either online or at competitions. After the McGee competition, even though they won, the teams were not happy with the way their robots performed because they knew that they could do better. So, they took them apart and are completely starting from scratch.

“They started [prepping] last year the day the game was released, and they put in a ton of hours during the summer,” Barksdale said. “The team members would get together at each other’s houses and discuss ideas and preliminary builds. We had a few work days up here. The communication was constantly there, the research was constantly there. They would even research top teams from China to try to innovate better robots.”

At the state robotics competition, the teams compete against all other tournament qualifiers. Last year, there were about 64 teams, and Barksdale expects to see around the same number this year.

“If you qualify at state, then you compete at Worlds,” Barksdale said. “Last year, we were fifth in state, so we missed Worlds by one or two spots. We were out in the match before getting to go to Worlds. This year, we’ve already qualified for state, so we are already light years ahead. Our end goal is to qualify for Worlds and compete against some of the best teams to possibly win.”

Barksdale believes that robotics is important because it gives many kids a place to land and an outlet to compete. It also lets the community know that engineering and innovation can be fun and that they drive the products people use every day.

“We do a lot of things with the elementary schools as well as for the community, so we are constantly looking down at the younger generations who can look up at the robotics team and think it’s cool and that they want to do it one day,” Barksdale said. “To do that, you have to learn to code, and you have to learn all of these skills that you can one day use as life skills in your occupation, especially if you go into the STEM field.”

Barksdale enjoys engineering, but he says his favorite part of being a robotics sponsor is the students. The time he has shared with them has made him love the program even more.

“A lot of my hobbies are woodworking and a lot of the same skills and different things we do in [engineering], but without the students, the personalities, the humor and seeing them really take off with what they’re good at, it wouldn’t be worth it,” Barksdale said. 

This copy originally appeared in the December 17, 2019 print edition.