The RoboRaiders, the Riverwood International Charter School Robotics Team, Wins the FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) World Championship!

The RoboRaiders, Riverwood International Charter School’s robotics team, has just won the FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) World Championship out of 100 competing teams, with teams from as far away as Norway, The Netherlands and Canada!

The Championship was held at the Georgia Dome during Thursday and Friday (April 16-17, 2009). 

 “Our robot's performance, the drivers skills, excellent strategizing and game play won us the Championship,” says Riverwood physics teacher and team sponsor Rama Balachandran.

There were tense and exciting moments during the final and it was a Championship well deserved.

“We won all six qualifying matches we played and were ranked third among 50 competing teams from all over the world in our Edison Division.  Then we were pitted against the finalists from the winners of the Franklin division.  Out of 100 competing teams, 24 made it to the finals, then 8, and then we ended up the Champion!  The entire robot design, building and trouble shooting was done solely by the student team under the leadership of Stanley Vergilis.”

The RoboRaiders qualified for world competition by winning the regional Tennessee State Championship at Tennessee Tech University in February.  In its second year as a team, the RoboRaiders won the regional competition for the second time, also won the coveted Inspire Award in Tennessee.

“The robots are built to play a game,” says senior team leader Vergilis. “Each year the organizers announce a game for the year’s competition, then you build a robot to compete in a 12 x 12 ft. arena.  The idea is to retrieve hockey-style pucks from the a stand, then put them one by one into cylindrical bins for 3 points, and triangular prism bin for 5 points each.  For the first 30 seconds of competition, your robot moves only with pre-programmed movements, then the next two minutes are wireless control from a program the team has written.”

“The program works with time, distance, wheel revolutions, and how long the body motors are running,” says senior Eric Corwin. “Each team has one robot, unless a team has lots of members and money! The competition entrance fee is $1000, and parts for the robot are $2700. The basic parts come in a kit, and parts are reusable the next year.”

“We got past the learning curve last year, which got us ready,” says wireless driver Bradley Goldstein. “The judges use match performance, observations made during interviews and in the pit area, the team’s Engineering Notebook, and performance on the playing field to determine the winner.”

“I’ve seen the team grow from 3 to 16 students,” says Ms Balachandran. “The club is student run and encourages discussion. It operates like a sports team.  After the meet, they analyze the performance, and say 'what can we do better.'  They even call the meetings “practices” and have lots of team spirit. "

"The team showed great team spirit and enthusiasm and delegated responsibilities during the tournament: some members scouted for information about competing teams, statisticians calculated team points and the performance of other teams.  There were cheerleaders and other team members who assisted in minor repairs between matches. Outside the tournament, we have team members involved in designing and building the robot, maintaining the engineering notebook, programming, fundraising, getting the team website ready and so on.  The seniors in the team have put in a lot of efforts not only in getting the robot ready but in also preparing the rest of the team for the next year.  Also seniors Josh Williams (programmer), Liya Lomsadze (engineering notebook) and Nir Levy (website) have contributed a lot this year,” adds Ms. Balachandran.

Congratulations to the following team members on their wonderful accomplishment:

Stanley Vergilis (captain)
Eric Corwin and Bradley Goldstein
Josh Williams
Liya Lomsadze
Nir Levy
Colby Watts
Don Armento
Sam Miller
Gia Lomsadze
Michael McGrael
Aaron Bhole
Sanjay Sridharan
Leo Rossignac-milon
AJ Shirey
Anne Carlin
Leah Mock
Cathy Solmson
MaryAnn Meyers

Special thanks from Ms. Balachandran to the team's supporters:  Mr.Echols, the Foundation, the PTSA and teachers.

To learn more about Riverwood International
Charter High School click here.