Rampage Robotics
4 TO 8 HOURS OF PRACTICE PER WEEK AFTER SCHOOL
Rampage Robotics is one of MICDS’s three robotics teams that competes in the First Tech Challenge, a global competition where teams around the world meet at various levels of competition and put their engineering skills to the test. Although one might assume that the team targets primarily engineers, Rampage attracts individuals interested in many fields. Lucas McCarty, one of the founding members of the Rampage Robotics team, elaborates:
"We need engineers to CAD (computer aided design) and physically assemble the robot, we need programmers to program the robot, we need business people to manage sponsorships and get our engineers a budget for resources, and we need marketing specialists to help us engage with the community, manage our brand, and promote the team. Each of these roles is crucial to the team’s success."
At the FTC competition, a different set of challenges is presented each year that the robot must complete, first autonomously and later under remote control. The goal is for the robot to complete as many challenges as possible to win the most points. Along with the challenges, the teams are also judged for their engineering processes and community engagement.
So what's the story behind Rampage? Lucas says, "Rampage was founded 2 years ago, and has had two very successful seasons, in which we have made it to the Missouri State Championship each time. We hope to make it to the next and final level of competition, the world championship, this year. We actually went 3 years ago, but that was when Technoramic and Rampage were all just Technoramic. After that season in particular, we realized that our team was too big to be efficient, so Mr. Menghini, myself, and other members from Technoramic created Rampage."
With high achievement comes with a high level of hard work and time commitment. Members are expected to attend at least one after-school meeting a week. These meetings are usually around 4 hours, but as the season progresses, you could be putting in up to 8 hours of practice per week. Lucas adds, "You shouldn't expect for this to be a club where you can just phase in and out. However, I must say that the time investment is worth it. The skills, experiences, and camaraderie are some of the best you will get at MICDS. If you are looking for a career in STEM, there is no better program at MICDS to help you prepare than robotics. There’s literally no reason not to join!"
On the topic of his favorite memory from Rampage, Lucas says, "I’ve had so many amazing experiences on Rampage, it’s hard to choose my favorite. My favorite moment may very well have occurred last winter, when we attended a conference qualifier, which was our final opportunity to make it to the state championship. It was a very exciting but also challenging day as we encountered some setbacks in the beginning. During one of our matches, our robot, which was operating autonomously, made a mistake, but for the first time that day, an algorithm that I had been programming for weeks kicked in and saved the day. The programming team had much to celebrate. Our drivers (Liam Weber, Alex Migala, and Will Schott) did an amazing job as well of overcoming challenges and efficiently scoring points. By the end of the day, we had not only reached a qualifying position, but taken first place in the competition and had become the winning alliance captain for the final stage of the competition. These were very impressive feats and we were extremely happy with our performance. That day marks my favorite memory from robotics, since it was a day where all our hard work culminated in success."
Thinking of joining Rampage? Contact Mr. Menghini at tmenghini@micds.org or Lucas McCarty at lmccarty@micds.org to join!
