Students at Wapato High School, one of the four Yakima Valley schools, will be participating in the regional FIRST Robotics Competition on March 16-18 at the Qwest Field exhibition center in Seattle.
In this competition, students build robots from kits and control them using computer programs and joysticks. This year, students have to design robots that are capable of hanging inflatable tubes in different formations. The other schools participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition include Sunnyside High School, Yakima Valley Technical Skills Center and Mabton High School.
About 100 schools will be participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition held at Seattle. Teams that qualify in the regional competitions held throughout the country will take part in the national tournament April 27-30 in St. Louis, Mo. Nationwide.
One of Wapato High School’s robotics team, the Robo Sparks, built Sparky 3.0. This team built a robot in the size of a lawnmower cart that has a turret to hold a telescoping arm and prong that extends above 10 feet high. The Robo Sparks team also built a crate for Sparky and a cart to haul him around the contest grounds.