The Lincoln Gearticks earned the top award at the state championship at Bridgewater State University on March 8. Front row, left to right: Evan Glenn, Caleb Sander, Irene Terpstra, Calvin Terpstra, Dante Muzila, Claire Telfer and Catherine Appleby. Back row, left to right: Thom Quirk, Andrew Lee, Amelia Brown, Jack Hutchinson, Austin Brown, Logan Engstrom Abby Payne. Photo by Victor Terpstra
By Caleb Sander, Claire Telfer, Abby Payne and Irene Terpstra
Lincoln Gearticks team members
The Lincoln Gearticks robotics team of 14 middle and high school students from Lincoln and Westwood took the top award at the Massachusetts FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics Championships on March 8 and will be heading to the Eastern Super-Regional in Pennsylvania next month along with five other teams from Massachusetts.
The program is run by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen of Segway fame and Woodie Flowers, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. Gearticks team members attend five different schools: Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, Lincoln Middle School, the Meadowbrook School in Weston, Landmark High School in Prides Crossing, and the Commonwealth School in Boston.
The Gearticks, who won the Inspire award at the Massaschusetts event, are one of 72 teams in the eastern region to advance to the Super-Regionals. “We work well together as a team and are really excited about advancing to the next level of competition,” said Thom Quirk, a sophomore at Landmark.
For many of the Lincoln Gearticks, FIRST has been a part of growing up. “Most of us have been participating in FIRST robotics since fourth grade, and this is our sixth year as a team,” said Catherine Appleby of Lincoln, a freshman at L-S. The team is coached by Anne Hutchinson and Margie Brown, both of Lincoln.
When the annual robotics challenge is announced each fall, the team works together to design, build, and program a robot within preset guidelines and allowable materials set by FIRST. The team also uses 3D modeling software, PTC Creo, and completes a detailed engineering notebook at each team meeting. “We incorporated a lot of newly allowed materials into our robot, which enhanced our performance,” said Evan Glenn, a seventh-grader at the Meadowbrook School.
“Git was indispensable in programming our robot—it allows multiple programmers work on the same code base at the same time,” said Logan Engstrom, a Lincoln junior at L-S.
The robot challenge is played on a 12-by-12-foot field. Teams are paired to form alliances and compete against another alliance in each match by operating their robots, which move blocks to baskets, raise a flag, and hang from a pull-up bar during 2½-minute competition rounds.
“Communication and cooperation are definitely the keys to our team’s success,” said Andrew Lee, a sophomore at Lincoln-Sudbury. “We learned a lot from Martin Nowak, a professor of math and biology at Harvard University, who showed us mathematically the importance of cooperation at a Bemis Hall lecture in February.”
The Gearticks robot delivers blocks to crates to score points. Photo by Indrani Kharbanda
After five rounds at the state event, the Lincoln Gearticks earned the highest ranking and the Inspire award. “We spent many hours working on our robot and fine-tuning its attachments, so it was very reliable in competition,” said L-S freshman Calvin Terpstra. Jack Hutchinson, a seventh-grader at Meadowbrook, added, “We built an amazing spring-steel suspension and a holonomic drive system, which is very maneuverable and reliable, both of which help us with handling on the robot.”
The Gearticks learned a lot from companies they consulted, especially from iRobot in Burlington. The team was particularly enthusiastic about iRobot’s ZipperMast—a mechanism with three reels of hinged panels that are mesh together into a tall, rigid mast. The Gearticks built a similar device to extend out vertically and then catch onto the pull up bar in the robot competition. The staff at iRobot also showed some of the team around their machining facility including their milling machine, and and helped them cut a part.
“Visiting iRobot was a great opportunity—we learned many engineering concepts and also how to work with materials such as spring steel,” said Amelia Brown, an L-S sophomore.
Despite the significant emphasis on robot performance in FTC, community outreach is an important aspect of the competition as well. The Gearticks enjoyed the outreach they did this year and wish to continue in the future. The team has hosted a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) professional night at L-S which invited professionals in STEM careers to talk about their line of work, what their jobs are like, and any ways teenagers can be a part of these professions. Many members of the team have also participated in mentoring the local FIRST LEGO League teams, as well as volunteering as referees at their competitions. The Gearticks have also participated in many other FIRST events including WPI Touch Tomorrow, Boston Greenfest, and First Night in Boston.
“It’s fun to give back to our community and promote FIRST ideas and values,” said L-S freshman Dante Muzila.
Fundraising is also an essential element of the competition. To have successful season, the Gearticks must raise enough money to cover operating costs and registration fees as well as purchase new tools and materials. They have many valued sponsors, including large engineering companies and local businesses, but they’re still trying to cover the expenses for their Eastern Super Regional trip and are welcoming new companies to sponsor them. Please email ftc6055gearticks@gmail.com if your company is interested in sponsoring the team and earning a spot on their team T-shirts.