*State Championship is May 30 at Thurgood Marshall High School in Dayton, Ohio
The Reynoldsburg robotics team Technical Difficulties hopes to have very few technical difficulties at a state competition next month, after earning top-five placement at two recent regional contests.
"The team has consistently made it to the elimination rounds in every competition we have been in and I am very proud of our season so far," said Jim Coley, an eSTEM Academy engineering teacher and coach of FIRST Robotics team 4085.
Under the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics competition rules, participants had six weeks to build a robot capable of completing complicated tasks. The 58 students on the team were divided into smaller subgroups to work on different aspects of the robot.
"Stop Build" day was Feb. 17 and by March 26, at the Buckeye Regional contest in Cleveland, the drive team operated the robot as it stacked plastic totes, then placed a large recycling bin on top. The final task was to slip a long pool noodle, or "litter," through a slot on top of the bin.
The team finished fifth out of 56 teams in Cleveland, but that success was not without challenges on the field, Coley said.
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