The Bonny Eagle High School Robotics Team (BERT) along with the Midcoast School of Technology won the 2006 FIRST BAE Systems Granite State Regional Robotic Competition held in Manchester, N.H. on March 3 and 4.
The Granite State Regional brought more that 1,500 students and their mentors together in a competition that emphasized teamwork, innovation and strategy. In early January, teams received a challenge to design, develop and build a robot in six weeks using a common parts list. The robots then competed in randomly selected alliances, performing a variety of tasks for scoring points.
This year’s challenge “AIM HIGH” had teams competing in three vs. three alliances within a four-round match. The 54-foot-by-26-foot arena included three goals for each alliance: two corner goals and one center goal at each end of the playing field. The competition required launching balls into the high goals and pushing balls into the lower goals. Three human players participated in each alliance, scoring additional points by throwing retrieved balls over a Plexiglas shield. Each match is 2 minutes and 10 seconds in duration consisting of four periods. The autonomous period is 10 seconds long; the remaining three periods are 40 seconds each.
Bonny Eagle High School, BERT Team 133, was awarded the Radio Shack Innovation in Control Award for producing an innovative robotic control system.
The robotics program is affiliated with the national organization, FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The goal of FIRST is to encourage and inspire young people’s interest and participation in science, technology, engineering and math. FIRST is a great way to launch tomorrow’s brightest scientists, engineers and leaders.
Bonny Eagle High School and the Midcoast School of Technology are raising funds to attend the National Championship event to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, from Apr. 27-29. The Bonny Eagle Robotics Team has only six weeks to raise $17,000. Donations for the Bonny Eagole Robotics Team (BERT) may be sent to Bonny Eagle High School, 700 Saco Road, Standish, ME 04084.
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