Robotics Program in High Gear for Start of School-Year

Ranney Robotics is flourishing across all three divisions. New robots and equipment have been purchased for the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools, and teachers are ready for the upcoming season, which is shaping up to be an exciting year. This year’s world competition will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, in April 2015, and students across all three divisions will keep that event in mind as they learn, compete and have fun throughout this robotics season.

The Upper School Robotics Lab is currently undergoing another round of renovations thanks to the support of a Ranney family. Enhancements include the addition of six competitive robots, bringing our total robots in the Upper School to 12. Our 12 teams will have 2 to 4 students per team, and we anticipate a core group of more than 30 students in the Upper School traveling to competitions. (In comparison, we had a core group of 20 students competing last school-year). In the classroom, Advanced Robotics students will be designing and testing underwater robots in the Walling Aquatic Center in preparation for the SeaPerch competition in the spring of 2015. SeaPerch is an innovative underwater robotics program that equips teachers and students with the resources they need to build an underwater remotely operated vehicle in an in-school or out-of-school setting.

Students anticipate the arrival of specialized shelving, tools, storage and organizers to be installed in the Upper School Robotics Lab during the first few weeks of school. In addition, the electrical capabilities of the room have been upgraded to handle the increased needs of powering so many robots. Our Upper School robotics field, also utilized by eighth-graders, is now located in the maintenance building to allow students more room to test their robots skills and practice for competitions.

Lower and Middle Schoolers will be strengthening their robotics skills this school-year as well. Eighth-grade students will be competing along with the Upper Schoolers in regular VEX competitions. For sixth- and seventh-graders, four new VEX IQ robots have been purchased. VEX IQ is a robotics system similar to the LEGO robotics system, which Lower Schoolers have used in the past. This year’s VEX IQ competition game is called “Highrise” and requires students’ robots to stack 3-inch cubes in towers. The higher the tower the robot builds, the more points it earns. All Middle Schoolers will be meeting with the Robotics Club Advisor, Chiara Shah, during activity periods and after school in preparation for their competitions. In addition, they will be mentored by their Upper School peers taking the Advanced Robotics class.

Four Lower School teachers were trained over the summer in the VEX IQ system and the division has purchased 10 VEX IQ robots. The new robots in the Lower School will be used year-round as part of a new robotics elective. Students in the Lower School will also have the opportunity to compete with the Middle Schoolers at VEX IQ events, one of which will be held at Ranney School (see below).

Ranney will be hosting two robotics competitions this year, taking place December 6, 2014 and January 17, 2015. The December competition will feature our 8th-12th grade students in the VEX “Skyrise” game. Robots will have to pick up 8-inch cubes and place them on poles of varying heights scattered throughout the competition field. Robots also have an additional challenge of building their own skyrise tower out of modular, cylindrical posts. This tower is 5-feet tall at its maximum height; cubes that are placed on this tower will gain the most points. On January 17, Ranney will host its first ever VEX IQ event. Ranney students involved in robotics from 4th-7th grades will be able to compete and older Ranney students will assist in running the competition.

It is an exciting time to be involved in Robotics at Ranney!

View previous coverage of Ranney Robotics.