As our world barrels into a new year of innovation and inventions, the Flint Hill community participates in these technological advancements and challenges themselves by competing in region-wide competitions and working hard in the lab. I’ve had the pleasure of inquiring about many of our robotically inclined huskies about their hopes for the team this year and some of the meets they look forward to participating in.

First on the list, are juniors Jeffrey Chen and Kevin Harvey. Both students have participated in the robotics program for as long as they have been huskies at Flint Hill. When asked about what inclined him to robotics, Chen wrote: “Robotics is a great extracurricular to showcase your technical skills or maybe even be a learning opportunity for you, whether it is in working hands-on with the robot externally or coding the software internally.” With these glowing remarks about the activity, it was no wonder Harvey shared similar thoughts with his peer, agreeing with Chen’s statement about the ingenuity that something like robotics induces.

This recreation is not complete without the challenging competitions that come with designing and testing functioning robots. This past Saturday, January 7th, the Flint Hill Robotics team took part in a competition with neighboring clubs. Before the meeting was scheduled to take place, Harvey took the time to explain some of the different rounds he participated in during this robotics meet. “I am competing in the Scrambler, Wind Power, and Fermi Questions. My partner and I built a robot for Scrambler and will see how it does this weekend. During Fermi Questions, my partner and I will be asked a series of questions that will test our reasoning and estimating skills with large quantities.”

Unfortunately, the results of this competition have been postponed until February 3rd because of the snowstorm that was supposed to take place last weekend. For now, our huskies eagerly await a chance to show off all that they have been working on these past couple of months. “I love collaborating with my team on this project– we’ve put so much effort into it,” Chen exclaimed.

As many of the seniors on the team reach their final year of robotics, Ben Hinrichs ‘24 shares his admiration for the difficult yet very rewarding nature of this activity. “Competing in robotics club is demanding in both time and collaboration. Each year the teams work diligently on a robot which we compete with. It’s hard work, but it is motivating and interesting because the results of your efforts are obvious.” Hinrichs is no stranger to the success that determination and work can bring about in the world of robotics, and shares his excitement for his current endeavors. “Right now our robot is made to travel around a plane in all directions and pick up and manipulate game objects with a three-joint arm. And pretty soon it will be able to launch paper airplanes!”

All in all, the Flint Hill robotics Huskies seize every opportunity they have to learn and discover more about the mechanical world around them. It is no doubt that these students are leaders of tomorrow as they blaze the trail into a new future of innovation with their ingenuity and creativity.