BEAVERCREEK — A group of Beavercreek High School students recently formed the first FRC group in Beavercreek for the purpose to build a robot, compete nationwide and put the Dayton area on the map as far as science and technology. But building a robot and going to competitions are expensive – in order to help with those expenses, Beavercreek FRC Team 6936 have set up a GoFundMe page asking for donations.
The funds will allow them to go to the World Competition at the end of April. The money raised will also help support the team into their second year. So far, they have met $1,750 of their $10,000 goal.
The Beavercreek Team is affiliated with For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST Robotics). It’s a non-profit organization that takes the skills of science, math, engineering, marketing and advertising, planning and teamwork into a sport that is more about the mind. The team builds their own robot that will be used in an obstacle course of such to compete a competition and win over their opponent. The Beavercreek team consists of 22 students and 11 mentors.
“Once a match is announced, the team has six weeks to design, build, and program the robot, and then you compete,” said Vault President and member Sonia Beltz. “So, normally, a team would have already done their fundraising, but because we started so close to the announcement date, we had to fundraise while we also designed, built and programmed the robot. Now that we have been accepted to move onto the World Competition, which is a high honor, we need additional funds for traveling, admission fees, and just extra needed parts to have on hand for the robot.”
When the team first formed, their name was BeaverBots, LLC, but are now known as Vault — after the Fallout video game where the dwellers of the game got tougher and more knowledgeable by spreading their message and gaining new members, which is what this team has done.
“Our first regional competition was at Miami Valley Regional Competition at the [Wright State University] Nutter Center. We won the Rookie Award – Highest Rookie and the Rookie All-Star Awards, so that qualifies us to go to the World Competition April 25-28 in Detroit, Michigan,” Vault’s mentor Ameet Beltz said. “Our team currently consists of Beavercreek High School students, but anyone from the area are welcome to join.”
Team sponsors: Ohio University Russ Research Center, Persistent Surveillance Systems, NASA, DMAX, PreTalen, Yaskawa, The MacNauchtan Laboratory, MacAir Aviation, XWARN, LemonGrass Spa, FRC Team 3138- Innovators Robotics.
In the real world of design and engineering, a company might receive a deadline of two to three years to build a robot that meets certain specifications, but Vault, as well as all other teams, are pressed to do it all in six weeks. So, after the competition date is announced, the team has to decide what they want the robot to do – what’s important for them. Then they prototype, program and build it. After that, the process of improvements and making sure the robot works exactly like it’s needed.
The team named their robot Bolt. Bolt is 54.5 inches high and weighs approximately 100 pounds.
“We started the GoFund Me page hoping to get the money needed before the World Competition, but in the last few weeks, donations have really been down,” said Beltz. “Even though we didn’t hit our goal, we’re still going. Our fundraising efforts will continue.”
Cost for this part of the build so far with competition fees is $25,600.
One of the goals of the team is to participate in community outreach events. After three months after the formation of the team, they presented their work at the National Museum of the United States Air Force during an event called “Robots Among Us.” It provided a chance for the team to explain their robot and design to local children.
The team’s mission is, “to inspire and motivate students of all ages to be passionate about the numerous aspects and applications of science, technology, engineering, and math by engaging them to learn to design, build, program, and drive robots as well as to learn to work cohesively and have fun and prepare them to be the innovators and leaders of tomorrow.”
The students worked long, hard hours to finalize their design before the competition. Their robot has already been shipped off to Detroit for their next event in the ring.
For more information or to join contact Vault by email at [email protected]. To send donations or sponsorships directly to the team, mail donations to RaiseSTEM cc: Vault6936, PO Box 178, Dayton, OH 45409. Visit the GoFundMe page at: www.gofundme.com/high-school-robotics-vault-6936.
