Teens in new SHS club turn up the heavy metal
Students assemble robots, place highly in competitions
BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer

ERIC SUCAR staff A student in the Spotswood High School Tech Club makes some adjustments to a robot in preparation for an upcoming competition.

SPOTSWOOD - They may be too young to know the song lyrics "Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto," but students at Spotswood High School sure know their robots.

Who knew when Styx sang its ode to the joys and perils of robotics in 1983 that 25 years later students would have their own robots in school? But students in Spotswood High School's Tech Club have taken so well to the automatons that the club is placing well in robotics competitions.

The Tech Club, which goes by the name Heavy Metal Robotix, was formed a little more than six months ago, but already it has made some noise in competitions, according to its adviser, Gary Hull. In December, the club took part in a scrimmage at Hightstown High School, made it to the finals and took second place along with a partner club.

And last month, the 10-plus students in the club made it to the semifinals of the Garden State Rumble, a robotics competition held at The College OfNew Jersey. The event included a playing field where robots built by the students performed tasks such as collecting rings and putting themin various places. Students were challenged to find themost effective ways for the robots to collect the rings, and to collect the most points.

"The kids assembled robots to perform these tasks," Hull said.

In fact, the robots had to be built very carefully because for 20 seconds they had to be free of any external control, on their own to collect the rings.

"You don't even touch a remote," Hull said. "There is no user input."

That was followed by two minutes where the students controlled the robots directly.

"You drive it around the field and make it do things," Hull said.

The club was formed with the goal of applying theoretical science knowledge to the real world,merging key principles fromthe fields of physics, engineering, and computer science.

A grant from the Spotswood Education Foundation enabled the club to get started. The $1,100 grant was used to buy the robotics kits. The club got off to a raucous start, however, as nearly 50 students arrived for the first meeting. That number was eventually whittled down to 10 core members, Hull said, noting that the club has since met three times a week.

SpotswoodHigh School science teachers Martin Dempsey and Christopher Talish also serve as advisers to the club, which has a Web site, www.hmrobotix.com. Student John Cicolella created the site.

The club uses a miniature field created at the school to practice for the competitions.

"It mimics a real field," Hull said.

Studying robotics allows students to learn in a number of areas, including physics, engineering, and computer programming, Hull said. The students also learn the "life cycle" of a project, including the brainstorming and design phases, and the building, testing and competition periods.

Perhaps most importantly, Hull said, the students also learn teamwork and communication skills.