REED CITY — Robotics is already an integral part of our technological advancements in society, and now they are becoming a big part of academic achievement in many schools. After Reed City Middle School’s robotics team’s success at the First Inspires Qualifier competition, the group is seeking another win at states.
The school’s robotics team, the Cyber Coyotes, has been hard at work preparing for their next challenge. Josh Johnston, a seventh–grade teacher at Reed City, has been working with the students and helping guide them through building the robot.
Emma Johnston, an eighth-grader, helped grow the club after initially joining.
“I started because I really like tinkering with things and knowing how things work,” Emma Johnston said. “I also figured it would be a good experience for my offseasons, and I began two years ago as the drive captain, and I would tell our drivers what to do on the floor.”
On Nov. 16, the team competed in the First Inspires Qualifier in Fruitport and ended up coming hope with a Design Award for their efforts. This judged award recognizes design elements of the robot that are both functional and aesthetic.
The Design Award is presented to teams that incorporate industrial design elements into their solution. The robot should be durable, efficiently designed, and effectively address the game challenge.
Each member of the team has different roles and interests that served the team well for this year’s competition. Seventh-grader Austin Davenport enjoys the tech side of the robots.
“I got into robotics last year because I was in a tech class with Mr. Johnston and I joined after he invited me to practice,” Davenport said. “I really liked doing the programming side of things in robotics.”
Sixth-grader Hailey Fenton said she joined because of her curiosity in robotics.
“I decided to join the club because I really wanted to learn how to design a robot and I thought it would be really cool,” Fenton said. “You really don’t need any experience to learn about this kind of thing, which I really …….