Not all of the Springbank Robotics Team 14023’s inventions have been winners.
“I think we’ve had five or six different iterations of our robot,” said team coach Tristan Parker.
“When we fail, we also fail together and we learn from our mistakes,” added Devin Corti, a team member and student at Calgary’s Springbank Community High School.
But they’ve also had plenty of success.
The team, made up of six Grade 10 and 11 students, was the provincial champ at the 2023 FIRST Tech Challenge in Red Deer, Alta., in March.
They’re now building on that design to create an all-new robot to compete in the world championship in Houston, Texas.
The Springbank team will be one of more than 1,000 teams competing there from April 19 to 22.
From builders to engineers and drivers, each team member has a role. They’re also tasked with marketing their design to sponsors and raising the necessary money to not only build their robot but also to travel for competition.
The teams will all have opportunities to win scholarships, but bragging rights and networking are likely the bigger drivers for success.
“I think the way the world is going right now is all just gearing towards robotics and AI and stuff that will all just improve society,” said Corti.
“Competition is one part of it. But making friends and lasting connections is the other part. And that’s the part I’m most looking forward to.”
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