The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

Fusing a sports team approach with an engineering mindset

Fusing a sports team approach with an engineering mindset

Robotics proves to be more than just math and science, with teamwork playing a large role




In the back corner of Room F107, there stand exactly 37 dusty trophies. A few feet farther stands a shiny black cupboard filled with tools in pristine condition. Monta Vista Robotics Team is clear about where its priorities lie.

Made up of over 100 members who meet after school and on weekends, MVRT works each year to build one main robot and one “minibot” to compete in the game created by the For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology organization for that particular school year. This year’s game, LogoMotion, involves robots competing to pick up shaped inflatables and lift them to sit upon giant pegs.WORKING FOR THE WIN Senior Helena Qin and Woodside Priory Class of 2010 alumnus Ryan Lee work on a battery for their robot on March 14. The robot was for the Silicon Valley Regionals, which took place on April 1. Photo by Vijeta Tandon.

While the process of making the robot does require knowledge of basic math and physics concepts, MVRT president senior Helena Qin likens the Robotics organization as a whole to a sports team rather than an academic club. Class of 2009 alumnus Ashwin Mathur, who was part of MVRT during all four years of high school, agrees with this analogy. Mathur, along with other alumni, comes to work with the current Robotics team so that he can continue to help the team succeed.

“[The founder of FIRST talked about] using the sports model to get students into engineering, and as a subset of FIRST we want to continue to do that,” Mathur said. “We want to maintain a fun atmosphere, have that adrenaline rush, have the team working together to reach a common goal.”

Mathur and Qin both agree that too often Robotics is stereotyped as a “nerdy” activity, when in reality teamwork and communication are essential to the team’s success.

“There are so many people in American society that idolize sports. The problem with engineering is that itís not idolized,” Mathur said. “So why not emulate something that people are already interested in to get them into engineering?”

MVRT Mechanical Lead senior Abhijaat Kelkar originally joined the team because he was interested in engineering, but he also found Mathur’s statement to be true. Kelkar was surprised to find that more than about “building stuff,” Robotics required him to work with people and communicate, not only within his own team but also externally.

For example, each summer Lynbrook Robotics and MVRT host a joint picnic where they play sports and have a barbecue as a bonding event, even though they are regularly opponents during competitions.

“We all go through the same hardships and problems during our build period, which gives us a sense of accomplishment at the end of the season,” Kelkar said. “[This feeling is] something we like to share with other Robotics members.”

This fun yet focused atmosphere is one which MVRT advisor Industrial Technology teacher Ted Shinta works hard to maintain.

“I think that is the way students learnóby doing,” Shinta said. “Not only do they learn how to make decisions, but part of it is learning from your mistakes.”

This mentality, which allows for experimentation, is one which Kelkar appreciates, for he acknowledges that one of the most frustrating aspects of Robotics is working for months on a design only to see it flop once the robot is actually tested.

“There are dead-ends, and you just have to back-track and start over,” Kelkar said. “Avoid the same mistakes as before, but just let it go and restart.”

Mathur recognizes the value of learning these skills early on, for now as an aspiring engineer he uses them  on a day-to-day basis.

“You don’t only de-bug robot problems,” Mathur said. “You deal with human issues, also.”

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