Gloucester Alumni

By Julio Chuy , Staff writer
Gloucester Daily Times

Sitting in the corner of a Gloucester High School science room, junior Samantha Aulisio looked on as a handful of students put the final touches on a robot they created over the last six weeks.

Among the things being discussed were the ins and outs of the robot's hydraulic system, its electric connections and programming its "brain."

Aulisio, 16, admitted she didn't know much about the topics - yet.

But by next month, she will try to become an expert on how the technology works since her classmates have entrusted to her an important task - operating the robot's single arm, which took many hours to build and will be the key to victory in an upcoming competition March 22 to 24 at Agganis Arena at Boston University.

"Yeah, there is some pressure to make sure I do it right," Aulisio said. "But I've gotten to practice a little so I should be OK."

The high school robotics team shipped its robot Tuesday to the For Inspiration and Recognition of Technology (FIRST) Robotics Competition, which challenges student teams and their mentors to create a robot to perform a specific function within six weeks using a standard "kit of parts" and a common set of rules. Teams build robots from the parts kit and enter them in a series of competitions designed by a committee of engineers and other professionals.

About 40 Gloucester High School students took part in the creation of their 110-pound, remote-controlled robot that will take part in the BU competition.

The team was sponsored by Comcast and the Gloucester Education Foundation, according to physics teacher and head robotics coach Kurt Lichtenwald.

The completed robot stands about five feet tall with four panels that carry some of the transmitters as well as wiring needed to operate it.

The robot was designed to transport inner tubes from one place to another. The competition revolves around this task and will award points for each successfully placed and transported inner tube. Additional points are awarded if a robot can lift a competing robot.

Regional-winning teams will get a bid to the FIRST International Competition to be held in Atlanta, Ga., later this year.

The students found the project intensive as they spent countless hours building and making sure the robot worked.

"We had at least five days where we stayed here until midnight," said junior Nick Christo, 18, who worked on many of the mechanical designs and operations of the robot.

Many of the students said they would like to move on to the international competition but are also striving to get the "Rookie of the Year Award," which is awarded to first-time contestants.

The competition, however, won't be easy, as 49 other high schools will be competing with sponsors such as General Electric, Raytheon, and institutions of higher learning such as Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Gloucester will not be the only Cape Ann high school taking part in the competition at BU. Manchester-Essex Regional High School's team, named "MX-Hornets," is also sending a robot to the competition, which it named "The Stinger."

Their robot stands about six feet tall and was built to lift like the other robots, according to Jonathan Keefe, a parent volunteer and mentor of the group.

Keefe said Manchester-Essex is also competing for the first time this year and hopes to expand upon its effort for next year.

"Not a lot of people knew that we even had a team," he said.

Like Gloucester, Manchester-Essex shipped its robot Tuesday, and it will be stored until the competition.

For Gloucester High School senior Jesse Kapsten, 19, the competition can't come soon enough.

"We're pretty excited about it," said Kapsten, who will be guiding the robot with a remote control. "It was a long learning process to make (the robot), but I think we'll give them a good show."