If there is one club that knows what it means to be dedicated it is the robotics club, the Ratchet Rockers. They spend an average of 25 to 30 hours a week outside of school working together to create innovative robots that they compete with. All the hard work they put in is so that they can compete at Worlds in Houston, Texas April 17-22.

The club has just finished their six-week build season. During this time they had to create their robot from start to finish. After the build season is over, they are required to put a vacuum bag over the robot and they are not allowed to work on the robot any further. This process is called “bag and tag” because they cannot open the bag back up until they get to the competition. There are six weeks of competitions before going to Worlds and the Ratchet Rockers will be competing in week three and five.

“The most challenging part is the time constraint every year,” senior Mike Coyle said. “You always feel like you are running out of time no matter how far ahead of schedule you are because it is six weeks and no matter how much you meet, you still don’t get everything done you want to.”

The theme for this year’s robot is “Deep Space” and the Ratchet Rockers created an elevator system robot that is able to go up to about 8 feet tall. On the elevator there is a hand and it is on a pair of slides that can open and grab the game pieces. The main goal of the competitions is to earn the most points. They can earn points by being able to put hatches, or discs, into their ship/robot.

When creating their robot, the team is separated into smaller subgroups that do specific tasks to build it. They have a computer design team, programming team, build team, and a business team.

“The business stuff is actually a really big part of the team that doesn’t require you to actually use the math and science aspect of it as much,” sophomore Abby Shields said. “Because it is more like looking at data and being able to advertise and fundraise, which is what people don’t think about with robotics.”

After competing in all their competitions, then they get the chance to go to Worlds.

“[My favorite part of the club] I would say seeing your robot compete and being able to feel that I accomplished something with my friends,” junior Mitchell Harbour said.

This club is a great way for students to express their love of creating. It is also a great way to meet a wide variety of people who are all working towards the same goal. The Ratchet Rockers compete at the St. Louis regionals competition on March 14 so make sure to wish them the best of luck.

For more information about the Robotics Club, visit their website http://ratchetrockers1706.org/

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