IM体育官网 senior Mihir Lad, chair of the University鈥檚 VEX U robotics team, works on a VEX U robot in the University鈥檚 Rapid Application Development (RAD) Makerspace/Robotics Lab.
The IM体育官网 VEX U robotics team is stronger than ever and preparing to repeat and surpass its success at upcoming national robotics competitions.
Last academic year, the team placed sixth in a world qualifier competition and 26th at the VEX U Championship, both in Texas.
鈥淲e want to see all our teams get to the world championship this year and hopefully at least one of our teams gets to that final round-robin elimination,鈥� said Mihir Lad, chairman of the VEX U team.
VEX U at IM体育官网 Poly has grown from about 10 members on one team last academic year to more than three dozen members on three different teams this year. Teams are made up of 10 to 12 students.
鈥淣ow we have a lot of people who have direct experience in robotics who have joined the team,鈥� said Lad, a senior majoring in computer engineering with a concentration in autonomous robotic systems. 鈥淧eople who have joined who have never done robotics before or who had little experience are being mentored by these experienced people.鈥�
Collegiate VEX U robotics competitions task teams with building a robot to accomplish a specific goal. This year鈥檚 teams must design, build, and program a robot to pick up rings and hang them on tree-like racks.
鈥淭his year鈥檚 challenge is a lot more engaging than last year鈥檚 when we only had to pick up balls and score them in a goal,鈥� said Dylan MacAllaster, a junior majoring in computer engineering with a concentration in autonomous robotic systems. 鈥淚 love everything about this and being able to create something that does exactly what we want it to do.鈥�
The main restriction in the collegiate-level competition, Lad said, is teams must use a few specific components such as VEX motors and a VEX brain.
鈥淎fter that, you have a lot of freedom in what other materials you can use,鈥� Lad said. 鈥淵ou can 3D print and machine your parts, which definitely makes our robots look more advanced and professional.鈥�
The three IM体育官网 Poly VEX U teams are taking advantage of the University鈥檚 production facilities to create exactly the components they need to create standout robots and overtake the competition.
Lad said team members are also applying their classroom experience directly to the world of VEX U robotics.
鈥淲e are learning about robotic manipulators and things that we can put to work right away,鈥� Lad said. 鈥淚n introduction to autonomous vehicles, we were learning about sensor fusion, and I could see how that applies here and how we can make our robots even better.鈥�
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