The Lincoln Gearticks team (click to enlarge).
By Abby Payne, Evan Lee and Jack Hutchinson
The Lincoln Gearticks robotics team, a group of 12 middle and high schoolers from Lincoln and surrounding towns, claimed the Inspire Award at the Massachusetts FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) State Championship on February 28. This award is the highest award a team can earn and is presented to the team that did exceptionally across all aspects of the robotics challenge.
The Gearticks will be heading to Eastern Super-Regional Competition in Pennsylvania on March 18 along with five other teams from Massachusetts. The Gearticks team members are from five different schools: Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, the Lincoln School, the Meadowbrook School in Weston, Landmark High School in Prides Crossing, and the Commonwealth School in Boston.
The robotics program is run through FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), an organization founded by inventor Dean Kamen and Professor Woodie Flowers of MIT. The programs goal is to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology, and for the Lincoln Gearticks, FIRST is an important part of their lives. Some team members started participating in FIRST robotics as early as third grade and have been doing so ever since. The current team is coached by Anne Hutchinson and Margie Brown, both from Lincoln.
A new robotics game challenge was announced in early September. The team began by designing their robot using 3-D modeling software, PTC Creo, and building prototypes with different materials. They also wrote programs to control the robot using RobotC language to prepare for competition.
The team’s robot competes on a 12-by-12-foot field with two alliances of two teams each. This year the challenge includes collecting wiffle-like plastic balls delivering the balls to tubes at various heights and ascending a ramp during a two-and-a-half-minute match. “With such a short running time and four robots on the field, matches are always action packed!” says Jack Hutchinson, a team driver and eighth-grader at the Meadowbrook School.
The Gearticks robot.
In addition to building a very competitive robot, the team spends a lot of time inspiring other people of all ages to learn more about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) activities such as robotics. Team members mentored eight FIRST Lego League (FLL) teams from Lincoln and Burlington in the beginning of the season, and volunteered at their tournaments and events. The team also teaches kids how to operate their robot at local events like Boston Greenfest in August and December and Touch Tomorrow at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in June.
“Outreach has really taught me how to communicate and teach other people about the awesome stuff robots can do,” says Andrew Lee, the Outreach Captain of the Gearticks.
The Gearticks have benefited from the support of local businesses including Doherty’s Garage, Stonegate Gardens, Clark Gallery, and Fitness Together. The team is looking for additional sponsors to cover their registration fee for the upcoming Eastern Super-Regional competition. Sponsorship has allowed the team to purchase parts and software, build a very capable robot, and share their robot with other people. This assistance ultimately allows the Gearticks to spread awareness of STEM and inspire others.
Click here to watch the team’s latest video. For more information about the team and the FIRST Tech Challenge program, visit the team website or send email to ftc6055gearticks@gmail.com.