United Engineering & Tech Magnet earn Texas Best Title and UIL State Robotics Contest
Written by admin, Dec 26, 2016, Comments Off
Courtesy Alex Meyer,
On December 8-10 United High School ULTIMATE Robotics Team under the direction of Laura Rodriguez, Arturo Rodriguez, Brian Piltin and Jorge Martinez competed in the Inaugural UIL Robotics Pilot State Championship held at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco Texas. Boosting Engineering Science and Technology (BEST), is an organization founded by Texas Instruments Engineers who had the vision and dedication in providing STEM opportunities through robotics challenges to students. Each year the BEST council meets to decide on the yearly theme.
This year the competition was called “Bet the Farm”, and the robot’s challenge was to plant seeds, harvest corn, and pick lettuce and tomatoes. The teams had six weeks to brainstorm, sketch, prototype, and test, re-design and construct a robot with weight and size constraints that can complete the task and gain points by developing the best approach to solving the challenge in 3 minute matches. The teams also had six weeks to complete all requirements and compete in their local hubs before qualifying to the Texas Best Championship.
The United High School Team Placed first in Robot and first BEST Award at the San Antonio BEST Hub, and Lyndon B. Johnson placed 2nd in Robot, and Alexander High School also qualified to state. The Ultimate Robotics Team proudly represented their school, United ISD, and our community at large by becoming the 1st Team to earn the Large School Division award, as well as 1st Place Robotics Pilot Championship. The Longhorn team competed in Engineering Notebook, Marketing Presentation, Exhibit and Interview, Spirit and Sportsmanship and Robot Tournament. United High School earned 3rd Place in Robot Tournament and the 1st Place Texas BEST Award, which is bestowed on the team that earns the highest cumulative score in the five areas.
Previously, the United High School Ultimate Robotics Team were the State Champions in 2011, 2013, 2015, and proud to be at the top of their game again in 2016. The team is composed of 65 students and 4 sponsors. The results of the 2017 competition will be revealed in early fall. Middle schools and high schools can apply to participate free of charge. Next year’s challenge will be called Crossfire and a teaser will be revealed in the spring of 2017.
