Penn Arena will be launching pad for Robotics ‘Deep Space’ competition

Penn High School’s Arena will be the launching pad for FIRST Robotics’ “Deep Space” Regional competition, on Saturday, March 9, and Sunday, March 10, 2019.

Opening Ceremonies are set for 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 9. Competition continues at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 10.

Next Generation presentations will be from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 9, in the East Balcony of the Arena.

In the video below, Penn Robotics Team 135 Coach Jim Langfeldt gives a preview of what fans can expect when they come out to watch the competition or bring their younger students to participate in the Next Gen area.

More information about the event can also be found by clicking here.

This is the third consecutive FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Regional competition Penn has hosted.

Robotics teams from nearly 40 high schools will converge at Penn for the event. Fans will be able to see the competitions play out, but also tour the staging area and watch students work on their robots and prepare for the competition.

“Attending one of these competitions is not only exciting to watch, but it teaches people how we truly are more than robots,” Penn Team 135 member Justin Ralston said. “All in one day at this event, we will have team members making robot repairs, driving, scouting, handling our media, and even giving presentations about what we do.”

Penn won the Chairman’s Award last season.

Under the direction of Penn Instructors James Langfeldt, Tara Pieters and Scott Shelhart, Team 135 has been competing in Robotics competitions for 22 years.

Ralston said that the Regional at Penn showcases the talents of high school students in the field of Robotics, as well as educating the community.

“People of all ages in the community are able to attend (the Regional) and see what exactly the FIRST program is all about, the ideals they spread, and the robots students work so hard to build,” Ralston said. “So through this entire process of trying to spread the ideals of FIRST and showcase our robotics programs, to us this event means another step to move forward in this process in this expanding field of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math).” 

Ralston is looking forward to developing skills in the Robotics event that will enhance his college and career readiness.

“Throughout my college and career life, I'll need to have many skills pertaining to cooperation, teamwork, and leadership, and I have the opportunity of gaining those experiences through this event,” Ralston said. “We will need to work together as a team to set up everything on Friday and compete Saturday and Sunday.

“From robot performance and fixes, to scouting, to drivers, to the Chairman's Award presentation, I have the opportunity of working with all these people to ensure everything is going smoothly and we showcase our work to the best of our abilities,” Ralston added.

In the Deep Space competition, according to Ralston, the playing field is built to simulate robots preparing to launch a spacecraft. Competitors must deploy "hatch panels" and "cargo" which are, respectively, large disks that attach to the walls of the rockets with velcro, and large kickballs that are placed into the sides of the rockets. At the end of the game, the robots can climb one of two different sized platforms to earn more points.

“One of the challenges we've faced is finding a good way to get our robot on top of these platforms,” Ralston said. “We went through many ideas and prototypes, all of which we were very unsure about. However, after some time, we further developed one concept and built several versions until it worked. We are now able to deploy an arm that grips onto both sides of the platforms and angles our whole 125 pound robot above the top of it.”