The pace is feverish for the second-year robotics team at Becker High School, as they race to complete the design and construction of their new robot by the Feb. 19 deadline spelled out in the rules of First Robotics competition.
The new robot must be able to control, pass and shoot a pair of large air-filled exercise balls into either a high or low target zone on a 25’ x 54’ playing field, working in conjunction with a robot teammate drawn at random during the competition season beginning in March.
Coach Mark Kolbinger said that the team will be doing demonstrations of their championship-winning first-year robot the Liberty Xcelerator (aka Peanut) at today’s Becker Business Expo. The team will also have a mock-up of the playing field required for this year’s competition to give spectators a better idea of the challenges required. The exhibit will also include a ball-toss challenge, and candy for the kids, Kolbinger said.
To this point, the BHS robotics team, the Coalition of Independent Students #4607, boasts 11 mentors, many returning from last year, and 32 students currently working hard on all aspects of team building.
Team Mentors
Tim Swanson, Liberty Paper; Dave Schwarting, Mn DOT; Jeff Schroeder, Diamond Acoustics; Jason Pfingsten, Liberty Paper; Ted Pelzer, Liberty Paper; Natalie Klaverkamp, Xcel Energy; Russ Girtz, Xcel Energy; Roger Niday, Xcel Energy; Mike Anderson, RTI Remmele Engineering, and Mike Kolbinger, Darter Plastics.
Team Members
Josiah Christensen; Matthew Johnson; Sydney Mastey; Cole Anderson; Kalley Anderson; Andre Bombardier; Sydney Busch; Jacob Charbonneau; Nick Cotton; Adam Ewald; Danielle Girtz; Collin Hanowski; Andrew Johnson; Zachary Kerzman; William Kluge; Emily Knudsen; Alex Kolbinger; Joshua Murphy; Laura Niday; Mathew Novak; Brandon Pearce; Brenten Schlangen; Grayden Schlangen; Emma Schreifels; Karen Schroeder; Kyle Schroeder; Logan Steffen; Mackenzie Swanson; Ryan Swanson; Nathan Sydow; Hannah Taylor and Kami Ziebarth.
