Engineer Profile: Mary Gatesy

The Voice had the wonderful opportunity to talk to Mary Gatesy, the captain of Presentation Invasion Robotics Team 2135. After several years of competing in FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competitions, she looks forward to a great year with her team. The Voice wishes the entire team good luck in their upcoming competition the weekend of Nov. 12.

How many years have you been on the Robotics Team?

I’ve been on the robotics team for three years.

What motivated you to originally join the team?

At first, I joined because it would look good on college applications, but I eventually stayed because it was a lot of fun.

About how much time every week do you have to devote to robotics?

In previous years we would work for three hours, twice a week. We would stay on Sundays for about 5 hours. This year we will probably do the same.

How were you chosen as captain?

I’ve been in robotics a long time, and I’ve started to know my way better around the shop.

As captain, what are your specific responsibilities?

I have to make sure that everyone on the team is working productively on the robot. I have to make sure that everyone is doing their job. I also have to organize meetings and make sure that everyone is there. It’s pretty fun.

How do you and the other captains and leads share responsibilities?

We all figure out what we need to do on the robot. The software captain does her thing, and the engineering captain does her job. I make sure that everything is finished, so we all make sure that the robot is finished on time.

How does a robotics match really work? What actions does your robot have to perform?

Each match is different. They are organized by FIRST, and you have to perform different tasks every time. Last year, we did an event called LUNACY where our robot had to pick up balls and put as many as possible in the robot.

Do you plan on pursuing a career in engineering?

Probably. I’m not really sure exactly what I want to do, but I’m definitely sure I’m going to major in something related to engineering.

What is your favorite memory from robotics?

One night last year, I stayed really late working on the robot with another lead, and we talked the entire time and it was really fun making it work. I was so happy that night.

What have you taken away from robotics that you can take with you in life?

You need to be organized and follow a specific schedule. I’ve learned a lot of time management.

Fetch: The Next FIFA Champion

Go, Fetch! No, The Voice isn’t throwing a stick for a cute little puppy to chase after. The Voice is, however, referring to a six-wheeled robot named Fetch that will hopefully make her way to Nationals this year. 

Team 2135, known as Presentation Invasion, will be attending the  Silicon Valley Regional this year, which is held at the San Jose University Event Center. The Robotics team hopes to qualify there for the competition in Atlanta, Georgia after all the local regional events.

This year’s Robotics team has worked five weeks and four days on assembling Fetch.  They built Fetch (who is a girl!) as part of the FIRST challenge. FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”. It is sponsored by NASA . It will take place March 18 to 20. The challenge is to build a working robot in six weeks that must complete the assigned task, according to President of the Robotics team, senior Sarah Watanabe. 

At tournaments, teams are assigned into an alliance. An alliance consists of three randomly selected teams that compete with a second, according to Watanabe. After each match, the members of each alliance rotate as an effort to compete or work with the other teams.

Team 2135 has been to five FIRST competitions. Last year, there were 46 local teams including Bellarmine, Valley Christian, Mitty, Leland and Saint Francis. Team 2135 beat Bellarmine last year and was chosen for Alliance. According to Watanabe, “Competition is a lot of fun to participate [in]. We meet a lot of new people while competing in a friendly manner to show who built the most efficient robot.”  

Not only do the teams have a lot of fun, but Watanabe says that spectators have fun as well. “We invite all Pres students to come see what we do and cheer everyone on,” she says.

Fetch’s task this year is to engage herself as a player of Breakaway, which is like a game of soccer for robots. Fetch has to get a normal sized soccer ball into the opposing goal. Up to three team members can control the robot. This may sound easy, but there are various obstacles that are in the way. The robot is placed in a 27 by 24 foot field with two bumps that divide the field into three zones. There is a tower in the center of each bump and there is a tower under each bump as well.

In order to play Breakaway, the robots must kick or roll a normal sized soccer ball in the opposing goal. The robots can use their camera to target the goal anywhere from the field. 

In the beginning, there is a 15-second autonomous period when the robot can shoot as many soccer balls into the goal. It must do so without the help of humans, which means that the robot must be programmed to do this by itself. After the 15 seconds are up, the human drivers take control and goals can be scored from anywhere.

There are three ways the robots can earn points. Simply scoring a goal is one point. If the robot can lift itself up onto a tower or platform, it’s two points. And if the robot can hang from other robots, that’s three points. 

The coding and building of the robot is a big time commitment. Junior Shelby Nemeth, VP of Software Development, programs the robot and finds it stressful, yet fun.  Watanabe says the team practices almost every day a week including eight hours on Saturday and Sunday.  But with a good attitude and willingness to learn, robotics is suitable for everyone. The members will teach new members mechanical engineering, software programming, and business market and management.

There are about 10 consistent members who come to work on the robots. Nemeth says that Robotics is a great way to make good friends. For all those interested in joining robotics, it is a team of diversity where everyone supports each other while learning engineering and business operation skills, according to Watanabe. However, members aren’t only restricted to these two divisions. They can help build the robot as well.

 The Robotics team has worked long and hard for their competition. After hours and hours of practice in the Jenvey house, they deserve to have recognition. Support the members and cheer them on at their competition. Catch your first glimpse of the robot on the soccer field as she tries to fetch the soccer ball.

Robotics Team in Full Swing

You’ve heard about them in passing, and maybe once or twice during the Panther Pride announcements. But do you really know about the Robotics Team here at Pres? The sad truth is, many people don’t, and the team gets little recognition for all the hard work they do.

This October the team got the opportunity to attend the Cal Games, a robotics competition for high school students hosted at Woodside High School. To prepare for the event, the team worked for two hours after school on every A Day and five hours on Sundays. The team placed 19^th out of the 36 teams that participated.

The team also opened their shop on Nov. 8 during the Open House. Their out-of-the-way location in the Jenvey House contributes to the fact that they are not well known, so being at Open House this year gave prospective students the opportunity to visit Skippy, their robot from last year.

Robotics is not only a fun learning experience. The team also gets the opportunity to participate in community service. On Oct. 24, Marketing Director Stephanie Fukawa, junior; Nwakego Uzoh, junior and Courtney Horn, sophomore participated in the Apple/SD Forum Teach Girls event. Apple created this program to get middle schoolers in science and technology. The team worked with 100 girls from the Bay Area, which put both the school’s name and the Robotics team’s into the community. Throughout this month, the team will also be involved in helping the First Lego League, another robotics program for middle schoolers. The team’s participation will help to further the youth’s interest in robotics and science.

To make sure they do their best at the Silicon Valley Regional this March, the team will up their ante, working after school every day and most weekends during what is known as crunch time. The team receives a challenge that their robot must be able to perform, such as putting a ball through a hoop or defending their team’s hoop. They will then spend time strategizing and building their robot according to their event. The team also hopes to travel to the Sacramento Regional after the Silicon Valley Regional this March. For this, the team will once again need to adjust their robot, especially its programming. “My team takes the requests of the engineering team and writes the software to make the robot drive and do all the other tasks that each competition asks us to do,” said Vice President of Software Development Shelby Nemeth, junior.

In spite of the rigorous hours and intense workload that comes with being on the Robotics Team, the girls enjoy many benefits from taking part in the team. “It’s exciting to see what other teams come up with and it’s about so much more than just building a robot,” said Nicole Bruno, sophomore. “It’s about the teamwork, creative problem solving, and being able to think on your toes.”

The girls form tight bonds in their time with the team, which helps them to work together to create a generally positive and fun atmosphere. Website Team member Michelle Yee, junior, said “Everyone in Robotics is one big happy family.”

Not only is being on the Robotics Team a fun and exciting experience, it also opens up other new opportunities for the girls. Team members gain important skills that can help them throughout their lives. “You get to spend time with friends while learning good skills that will help in the business world,” said Shruti Swaminathan, freshman. The team participates in FIRST, the organization that sets up many of the team’s competitions. “We have a whole host of scholarships available to us as FIRST participants, and simply being involved with FIRST sets us apart from the crowd,” said Bruno.

It is clear that the Robotics Team at Pres works hard and is dedicated to what they do. They work hard and spend rigorous hours on their robot. But the team is also very close, and the friendships they make on the team help them to overcome their struggles. Engineering Captain Jennifer Potter, senior said, “Sometimes nothing seems to work on a robot but we can all just take a break, curl up around some dinner, and relax with one another.” Our school’s Robotics Team is confident that this year will be one of their best yet.