Under the direction of the very dedicated coach Mr. John Maten, long time member of Shrine Parish, the Shrine RoboKnights from
the National
Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, have earned a trip to Hannover, Germany.
They will be displaying an automated area like the one that Wall-e lived in (inspired by the Wall-e movie viewed at a team pizza night). The team has been devoting three nights a week and Saturday to building and painting the display and programming and wiring the robot. Several inputs are used to signal areas to start and stop in the program and the outputs are used to turn on a variety of different devices. The display measures 1.8 x .8 meters.
The RoboKnight season began by competing in the Annual Lego
Competition. The RoboKnights competed against 48 middle school teams at
the regional competition. They placed 3rd. The team also received a
trophy for Excellence in Programming. On to the State Competition. They
finished in the top ten for completing numerous tasks within two
minutes.
Through the association of our coach, Mr. John Maten and Mr. Ron
Lavalee, FloChart Software Consultant, the RoboKnights were invited to
participate in a pilot competition in the United States, sponsored by
Phoenix Contact, world headquartered in Germany. The RoboKnights
competed against four other teams – high school and college aged
students. And they Won.
The RoboKnights said they are looking forward to representing their
country and their Catholic School in the Biggest Industrial Trade Show
in the World held annually in Hannover, Germany, April 20-24.
The parents and chaperones are in the process of raising funds to
accompany their children on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The team consists of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students:
- Christopher Breen, 8th grade -- Robotic Programming
- Julia Cwiek, 6th grade -- Robotic Programming, Build
- Phillip DeVoe, 8th grade -- Electrical Wiring, Programming, Diagramming
- Rachel Harbut, 6th grade -- Light Programming, Flow Charting, Diagramming
- Erin Hull, 8th grade -- Robotic Programming, Build
- Michael Maruszczak, 7th grade -- Light Programming, Build
- Jake Miller, 7th grade -- Robotic Programming, Build
- Michael Schienke, 7th grade -- Robotic Programming, Build
- Katie Supanich, 8th grade -- Robotic Programming, Build
The team gives a special thanks to all the parents who have contributed
many hours mentoring the students. And also a thank you to Richard
Maruszczak, 11th grade student at Shrine High School, who produced and
edited the video posted on YouTube. They believe this video contributed
to the overall presentation of the technical savvy of the RoboKnights.
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