WVHS Wildcat Robotics team strong at Albany tourney
The Warwick Valley High School Wildcat Robotics team attended its second tournament of the season at Albany Academy on Saturday, January 18. Their first tourney of the year was on December 7th, where they placed 3rd overall. At last weekend’s tournament, the team made it all the way to the finals, ultimately placing 4th in a field of 27 schools from Rockland, Westchester and upstate. Wildcat Robotics only narrowly missed the podium, being closely outscored by the Mamaronek SharkBots and Team Beta from Plattsburgh.
Additionally, the Warwick Valley team also scored 2nd place for the Control Award, which is given to the team that best uses software and sensors to creatively increase its robot’s functionality. The team used a webcam to recognize key points on the game field, called AprilTags, to make their robot navigate more precisely and efficiently.
The Wildcats have one more competition coming up on February 8 at Peekskill High School. In the meantime, they are hard at work CAD modeling and 3D printing a new claw for the robot, making their controls more efficient, as well as doing activities with Park Avenue and Sanfordville students.
Wildcat Robotics team captain Abagail Foust summarized the teams growth and gracious professionalism.
“Coming out of our last competition we knew we had work to do, and seeing it come to fruition was extremely rewarding,” she said. “Seeing the team work so diligently, regardless of set backs that we had at the competition, really showed how much the team has grown this year. We have work to do before February in Peekskill, but we had a solid performance.”
Finally, THANK YOU to the Warwick Valley community at large for its immense support of the robotics team’s LEGO Drive. Our LEGO contribution was impressive and greatly appreciated.