Alden Knights Crusade Through the FTC

Jill Peruzzi, Reporter

The Alden Knights robotics team is definitely something to be proud of. So far, they have won the Motivate, Connect, and Inspire awards in addition to their qualification in the FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) Regionals. With such dedicated members, they are likely to have even more success at their upcoming competition on January 17th in Utica.

According to team captain Sara Pasternack, “The Alden Knights are awesome because we are really the underdogs of the FTC. As a rookie team, we very much expected this to be a learning year, but we got much further than we thought we would.”

When asked what makes the Alden Knights so successful, Coach Turton responded by saying, “I feel that people in general waste a lot time doing nonsense that makes no difference in the world, but this team doesn’t. They take their free time and channel it into something worthwhile.” He went on to say that many participants in the FTC just do it for fun, but the members of the Alden Knights take it seriously and want to win.

The team works on one specific robot.  They have created several different generations of it by adding improvements after each competition. They are bringing the third version to Utica. “It’s really a work in progress,” says Sara.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competitions are truly a big undertaking. They are usually a 10 to 12 hour process. The robots have to perform tasks such as moving debris into a drop zone. The teams receive extra points if their robots can climb and perform pull-ups.

One thing about robotics that differs from most “sports” teams is that the students make all of the decisions on their own. “It’s all them, I just help support,” says Coach Turton. This sometimes creates challenges, but the team always manages to overcome them.

Another aspect that makes the Alden Knights exceptional is their community outreach. They have worked a lot with younger students at events such as Mother-Son night at the Primary School. They are also hosting Middle School classes in the Innovation Lab to demonstrate 3D printing, Computer Aided Design, Computer Programming, and how they relate to robotics.

If the Alden Knights keep up the great work, they will be well on their way to reaching their ultimate goal of the FTC World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

Don’t forget to follow @alden_knights on Twitter and subscribe to their YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMEBIk3Evto54D1TQshhd0A for updates about the team!