Clicks and motor whirring echoed against parent cheers from the bleachers.
Over 200 students, parents, teachers and coaches gathered on a blue, tarped floor in Lincoln Middle School’s gymnasium for the annual Alachua County Public Schools robotics competition.
The VEX IQ Robotics challenge is an open-ended research project, hosted through tournaments and clubs in elementary and middle schools. This year’s competition featured 10 elementary schools and seven middle schools.
Over 40 teams played on a small rectangular field in teamwork matches.
Kelley Kostamo, ACPS supervisor of volunteers, said the district program has existed for nearly a decade. School teams have to engineer the best robot to solve the challenge, which changes each year.
Each group of two was randomly assigned, but still within their general grade level. This year, groups earned points by passing a ball between their partner team’s robot, in an effort to shoot them into scoring holes.
Kostamo said because teams are competing together to get the most points, the program builds important teamwork skills.
Chris Dodyk, an instructional technology coach, said VEX Robotics are built by students from scratch, unlike other pre-built model competitions like LEGO. The time to build it is mostly based on experience but could take anywhere from one to four months, he said.
Mary McCready, science teacher at Littlewood Elementary, also leads the school’s robotics club. Although only seven students represented Littlewood in the event, she has nearly 30 students in the club. The two teams that competed have been working on their robots since September, she said.
McCready said she believes the program builds a student’s future.
“Being an elementary school teacher, I walked in today and saw a bunch of old students,” she said. “They’re now in middle school robotics programs and are building bigger and better robots.”
Jason Von Meding, a 42-year-old Gainesville resident, is a parent and coach of Glen Springs Elementary School’s Robotics program. All three of his children have participated in robotics programs, with his youngest participating in the competition, he said.
The biggest thing the students learn is to “deal with disappointment,” he said.
“Being involved in a competition where it’s more collaborative, rather than trying to beat people, is kind-of cool,” he said.
Von Meding said he believes the program aligns with the growing advancement of AI and machine learning, as groups are also tested on their driving and programming skills.
Eli Von Meding, is a fifth grader at Glen Springs Elementary and Jason’s son. He said his robot is large, with a catapult to shoot the ball into the goal.
He said he was the main coder for the robot, building the robot’s actions on a website. He’s been coding for two years, and likes what he does, he said.
“I don’t really have to do that much driving,” he said. “I’m really just coding things … and doing programming skills,” he said.
Paige Bramlett, a 13-year-old Fort Clarke Middle School student, has been involved in robotics since the third grade, she said. She was her team’s captain and considers this competition to be “the most challenging one she’s ever done,” she said.
Anneliese Smith, a 14-year-old Fort Clarke Middle School student, is on Bramlett’s team. Their team is called “The Purple Elmo’s.”
Being a girl, Smith said she was warned by her parents about how many boys might be involved in the sport. However, she said being a girl makes her feel “superior,” she said.
“You’re always probably going to find at least one person who is nice and smart and somebody you can be friends with,” she said. “Even if they’re not of the same gender.”
Vex Robotics also has competitions at the high school and university level, each bearing their own set of rules and regulations.
The multiple winners of the district competition will be announced later Thursday. The winners will compete for a spot in the Central/North Florida State Vex competition in March, with the chance to possibly compete at the worldwide competition in May.