Inspired By Robots
East High Angelbotics Win Regionals, Headed to World Championship In April
Story and photos submitted by East High Angelbotics
For the GPHN
On March 2, the East High Angelbotics — along with George Washington High’s robotics team, The Kraken — won the FIRST Robotics Utah regional competition.
For the second year in a row, Angelbotics also won the “Gracious Professionalism Award,” a prestigious honor that exemplifies a central tenet of the FIRST Robotics mission: working together both on and off the field of play.
On March 23, Angelbotics went on to win the Colorado Regional for the second year in a row (along with another “Gracious Professionalism Award”). The East High rookie team, Anglebotics, won the “Rookie All Star” award and due to the of the qualification rules, they earned a wild card to attend the World Championship.
Founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen, FIRST Robotics is a trademarked global nonprofit that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs. The FIRST in the name is an acronym that means: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.
Teams with a tournament victory earn an invitation to the 2024 FIRST Robotics Championship, an international high school robotics competition with teams from all over the globe. The teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors compete with robots up to 125 pounds that complete tasks such as scoring balls into goals, placing inner tubes onto racks, hanging on bars, and balancing robots on balance beams. This year’s game, Crescendo, has a music theme and robots shoot “notes” into “speakers” and “amps.”
The championships will take place in Houston this year from April 17 to 20.
Established in 2004 by East High Engineering teacher Joel Noble, Angelbotics was the 1339th FIRST Robotics team (and is therefore Team 1339 in competitions). It took years to excel to “Champs” status, and Angelbotics will this month compete in Houston for a third consecutive year.
Last year, Angelbotics reached qualifying rounds at Worlds and won the “Imagery Award,” which celebrates attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of robot and team.
This year, more than 50 East High students joined either the veteran team, Angelbotics, or the new rookie team, Anglebotics. Students learned every step required to build a fully functioning robot, including how to design in 3D with CAD software and “machine out” designed parts with CNC routers, mills, and other tools. After construction, students wire and program the robot for competition.
Angelbotics also supports other DPS schools, including helping establish South High School’s robotics team, RoboRavens. Every September, Angelbotics hosts Energy Day, providing local teams a chance to showcase their robots.
And at every competition they attend, Angelbotics host the Service Angels service cart, traversing the pits looking for teams who need help in between matches. Community outreach inspires future generations of young people through mentorship to pursue their passions in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.
For more information visit angelbotics.org or thebluealliance.com/team/1339.
