Robotics Team At Central High
Weekly updates on our progress are available on YouTube!
Week 1: https://youtu.be/j869BRuu8wg
Week 2: https://youtu.be/ZNUcSwjYZ1A
Week 3: https://youtu.be/BzlnqqRmX3s
Week 4: https://youtu.be/AgQTkPrENi8
Week 5: https://youtu.be/8YemPkpv6oI
Week 6: https://youtu.be/ng0rMXDqI24
Week 7: https://youtu.be/ifggq1SQh68
The Central High School RoboLancers — the student-run robotics program of Central High School in Philadelphia — is urgently seeking your financial support to attend the Robotics World Championship in St. Louis from April 22 to April 25. Here is a link to our gofundme campaign: http://www.gofundme.com/robolancers2015
The RoboLancers champion science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in our public schools and have become a shining example of what students in a challenging urban setting can do when given the opportunity. Since its founding in 1999, the RoboLancers have grown from five students to a multi-faceted program of more than 112 students. It is now the largest extracurricular activity at Central High School, one of Philadelphia’s most academically rigorous public magnet schools.
This year, the RoboLancers were one of two teams selected from the 122 teams in the Mid-Atlantic Region to win the Chairman’s Award, the FIRST robotics organization’s highest honor. This award is given to the team that most exemplifies the spirit of the organization and in recognition of its work promoting science and technical education among high schoolers. In addition to the Chairman’s Award, the team has won four Engineering Inspiration Awards over the past three years, which further recognizes our outreach and educational activities.
The RoboLancers’ membership is drawn from Central High School’s extremely diverse population. Of the more than 2,200 students who attend the school, 30 percent are African-American, 33 percent are Asian, 9 percent are Latino, and nearly 60 percent come from families that are classified as “economically disadvantaged.” The RoboLancers mainly compete against suburban and private schools with significantly more resources, yet the team thrives despite significant financial adversity. Our outstanding performance has made us eligible for the FIRST Robotics World Championship, one of the most challenging high school robotics competitions in the nation.
Teams around the world had six weeks to design and build a 120 pound robot from scratch that competes with other team’s robots by performing a variety of tasks. The design, construction, programming and operation of the robot provide students with critical hands-on experiences they can’t get in the classroom. The opportunities afforded by the robotics competition spark student interest in engineering and help prepare them for college and careers in STEM fields.
Yet the RoboLancers are much more than a competitive robotics team. At a time when Philadelphia public schools have suffered devastating budget cuts involving the layoffs of thousands of teachers, the shuttering of dozens of schools, and drastic program and classroom cuts, including the defunding of robotics programs throughout the city, the RoboLancers have stepped up and become the lynchpin of STEM education in Philadelphia. The team mentors other robotics programs across the city, providing technical support, physical space, and tools for other teams.
The RoboLancers also host several critical robotics events, including workshops and competitions for elementary, middle, and high school students from around the city. The RoboLancers also partner with the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Lab to host the Philadelphia Robotics Expo, an all-day event to promote engineering and science education to more than 400 children through student-run workshops, demonstrations and programs. Supporting the RoboLancers does not just benefit students at Central High School, but thousands of students across the city who participate in the RoboLancers’ outreach program.
Our annual budget of more than $30,000 has been raised exclusively through an aggressive student-run sponsorship campaign and the support of the Associated Alumni of Central High School and the Central High School Home and School Association. Yet the RoboLancers’ selection for the World Robotics Championship means the team must raise an additional $25,000-$35,000 to pay for event registration, hotel accommodations, meals, and transportation of students and equipment to and from St. Louis. And we must raise this money in less than two weeks.
Your assistance is urgently needed to ensure that this extraordinary team of high schoolers will have the chance to compete in the FIRST Robotics World Championship from April 22 to April 25. Thank you in advance for your support of STEM education in Philadelphia.
Contact: Michael Johnson, RoboLancers Coach, RoboLancers@gmail.com, 267-666-0246.
UPPER DARBY, PA, MARCH 29, 2015 — The Central High School RoboLancers won the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) District Chairman’s Award at a competition at Upper Darby High School over the weekend, the most prestigious award given at that competition. The award identifies the RoboLancers as a “model team” that has worked over the last five years to grow the robotics program within Central High School from 10 student members to over 100 while also inspiring thousands of students of all ages throughout the region to explore STEM fields.
In a school district hard hit by budget cuts that have resulted in sharp reductions in science and engineering classes and programs in recent years, the RoboLancers have worked continuously to foster engineering and science education by mentoring younger teams in the city and hosting events for all levels of the FIRST program, from elementary to high school. They also host the annual Philly Robotics Expo (coming up on April 20 at the Singh Nanotechnology Center at the University of Pennsylvania), where hundreds of schoolchildren take robotics classes taught by the RoboLancers students and have the opportunity to meet and interact with other robotics teams and companies who come to exhibit their robots.
To compete for the Chairman’s Award, teams submit an essay and a short video explaining the impact of their team, then they make a presentation and are interviewed by a panel of judges. This year’s presentation team is comprised of seniors Stanley Umeweni and Maria Shayegan and junior Evan Aretz. You can view their video at: http://youtu.be/MgiFTv7zwWM
The RoboLancers FRC team will compete at one more district-level event on April 3–4 at North Brunswick High School in North Brunswick, NJ, before joining other qualified teams at the Mid-Atlantic Robotics Regional Championship on April 9–11 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA.
In addition to presenting before a panel of judges in hopes of winning the Chairman’s Award for the whole mid-Atlantic region, the RoboLancers will continue to compete in the robot competition itself. The RoboLancers, like all FRC teams, had just six weeks, starting in January, to design and build their robots to play this year’s game, “Recycle Rush.” Objectives of the game include stacking large plastic totes, placing recycle bins on top of those stacks, and placing pool noodle “litter” in the recycle bins. During the first 15 seconds of each round, robots operate autonomously, following commands that the students have pre-programmed. Then for the remainder of the match, students operate the robots in real time via remote control.
All FIRST tournaments are free and open to the public. For more information on the FRC district tournaments and regional championship, see http://www.
FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization founded by Dean Kamen which seeks to inspire students from K-12th grade to pursue and lead STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields. Competitions such as FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition), FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge), and FLL (FIRST Lego League) blends the engagement of science and technology and the value of teamwork through friendly competitions with other FIRST teams while giving students rewarding experiences that follow them to whatever field they choose to pursue.
The Central High School RoboLancers is a FIRST Robotics Team founded in 1999. Starting with a small classroom of students, the team has now has grown to over 100 members. In addition to competing in multiple levels of competitive robotics events, the RoboLancers have helped mentor many teams across the Philadelphia region, including at Girls High School, Independence Charter School, G.W. Carver High School for Engineering and Science, and Martin Luther King High School, to raise awareness for the need of STEM education and occupations within Philadelphia and around the world. The RoboLancers have won many previous awards such as the Engineering Inspiration Award and traveled to the 2013 FIRST World Championship in St. Louis. The RoboLancers are growing, not only in their team but in their impact in the community; this Chairman’s Award is proof.
Special thanks to our wonderful sponsors: The Associated Alumni of Central High School, The Central High School Home and School Association, McKean Defense, Comcast, PTC, P’unk Avenue/Ignite Philly, Bresslergroup, and Johnsonville.
Justin Glazman, Jonah Getz, and Mechanical Lead Kamal Carter in the pit
Contact: Michael Johnson, RoboLancers Coach, RoboLancers@gmail.com, 267-666-0246.
PHILADELPHIA, FEBRUARY 23, 2015 — Central High School’s two FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics teams will join hundreds of students from across Pennsylvania, ranging from 7th–12th grade, at Millersville University on February 28th for the 2015 FTC Pennsylvania State Championship Tournament. In this year’s exciting game, “Cascade Effect,” 36 teams will face off against each other in an alliance format. Winners of the FTC Pennsylvania Championship will advance to the Eastern Super-Regional — and finally to the World Championship. Off the field, teams will also compete for the Inspire Award and other judged awards.
Five Philadelphia teams that competed at the Philadelphia League Championship at Central High School on February 7th qualified to go on to this state championship. These are the Central High School RoboLancers Gold and Crimson teams, the Northeast High School N.E.R.D.S, the Edison High School Robo Owls, and the Freire Charter School RoboDragons.
For months, the robotics teams have been hard at work designing, building, and programming their robots from scratch. The robots are remotely operated and are constructed by students using robotics system kits with basic tools and equipment utilizing professional mechanical techniques and creativity. “Cascade Effect” involves 160 white plastic balls with robots seeking to score points by placing the balls into rolling goals.
The Central High School RoboLancers also compete in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)—the highest level of competition offered by FIRST. The RoboLancers FRC team is scheduled to compete at three district-level events:
March 13–14 at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, 500 W Willow Grove Ave, Philadelphia
March 28–29 at Upper Darby High School, 8201 Lansdowne Avenue, Upper Darby, PA, and
April 3–4 at North Brunswick High School, 98 Raider Rd, North Brunswick Township, NJ
FRC teams had just six weeks, starting in January, to design and build their robots to play this year’s game, “Recycle Rush.” Objectives of the game include stacking large plastic totes, placing recycle bins on top of those stacks, and placing pool noodle “litter” in the recycle bins. During the first 15 seconds of each round, robots operate autonomously, following commands that the students have pre-programmed. Then for the remainder of the match, students operate the robots in real time via remote control.
All FIRST tournaments are free and open to the public. For more information on the FTC state championship see http://www.ftcpenn.org/. For more information on the FRC district tournaments, see http://www.
FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization founded by Dean Kamen which seeks to inspire students from K-12th grade to pursue and lead STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields. Competitions such as FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition), FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge), and FLL (FIRST Lego League) blends the engagement of science and technology and the value of teamwork through friendly competitions with other FIRST teams while giving students rewarding experiences that follow them to whatever field they choose to pursue.
The Central High School RoboLancers is a FIRST Robotics Team founded in 1999. Starting with a small classroom of students, the team has now has grown to over 100 members. In addition to competing in multiple levels of competitive robotics events, the RoboLancers have helped mentor many teams across the Philadelphia region, including Girls High School, Independence Charter School, G.W. Carver High School for Engineering and Science, and Martin Luther King High School to raise awareness for the need of STEM education and occupations within Philadelphia and around the world. The RoboLancers have won many awards such as the Engineering Inspiration Award and traveled to the 2013 FIRST World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.
Special thanks to our wonderful sponsors: The Associated Alumni of Central High School, The Central High School Home and School Association, McKean Defense, Comcast, PTC, P’unk Avenue/Ignite Philly, Bresslergroup, and Johnsonville.
Hundreds of students across Philadelphia and the region, ranging from 4th–12th grade, will converge on Central High School Feb. 7 for the city-wide robotics championship match. The teams will compete in the 2015 FIRST Tech Challenge, “Cascade Effect.” In this exciting game, 15 teams will face off against each other in an alliance format. Winners of the FTC Philadelphia Championship will advance to the State Championship — and finally to the World Championship. Other awards include the PTC Design Award, the Winning Alliance Award, and the Finalist Alliance Award.
For weeks prior to the championship, robotics teams have been hard at work designing, building, and programming their robots from scratch. The game, “Cascade Effect,” is quite challenging, requiring teams to strategize in order to score the most amount of points. Teams have spent hours after school strategizing and creating a robot fit to compete. Central High School’s RoboLancers hosted last year’s FTC Philadelphia Championship with hundreds of people in attendance to support their favorite robotics teams. Crowds are expected to be even larger this year.
The robots are remotely operated and are constructed by students using robotics system kits with basic tools and equipment utilizing professional mechanical techniques and creativity. “Cascade Effect” involves 160 white plastic balls with robots seeking to score points by placing the balls into rolling goals. The team with the most amount of points advances to the next round.
Teams from the following schools are scheduled to compete: Central High School, Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School, G.W. Carver High School, Freire Charter School, Frankford High School, Edison High School, Abraham Lincoln High School, Northeast High School, Murrell Dobbins/Allegheny West Foundation, Academy at Palumbo, and Olney Charter High School
FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization founded by Dean Kamen which seeks to inspire students from K-12th grade to pursue and lead STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields. Competitions such as FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition), FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge), and FLL (FIRST Lego League) blends the engagement of science and technology and the value of teamwork through friendly competitions with other FIRST teams while giving students rewarding experiences that follow them to whatever field they choose to pursue.
The Central High School RoboLancers is a FIRST Robotics Team founded in 1999 originally starting with a small classroom of students and now has grown to over 100 active members. The RoboLancers have participated in robotics events at multiple levels and have helped mentor many teams across the Philadelphia region, such as Girls High School, Independence Charter School, and Martin Luther King High School to raise awareness for the need of STEM education and occupations within Philadelphia and around the world. The RoboLancers have won many awards such as the Engineering Inspiration Award and have traveled to the 2013 FIRST World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.
Special thanks to our wonderful sponsors: The Associated Alumni of Central High School, The Central High School Home and School Association, PTC, McKean, Comcast, Ignite Philly, Bresslergroup, Johnsonville, and P’unk Avenue.
On February 7th, Central High School will be hosting the FTC Philadelphia Championship. The event will be running from 7 AM to 6 PM. Robotics teams from around the city will be competing for numerous awards and hope to advance to States. Last year Central had hosted the FTC Philadelphia Championship and many people had attended to watch the competition.
This year we are hoping for more people to come and support the teams. We hope that you can come attend this exciting event.
Go Crimson #6676 and Gold #5320!
Thanks to a grant from the Central Home and School Association, our new vertical bandsaw is on its way! Watch for real pictures once our saw arrives and takes its place in the Spain Robotics Lab.
Thanks Home and School!
The RoboLancers are currently holding a canned goods and book drive. Located in various locations of Central High School there will be bins and boxes. The bins will be used for the canned goods while the boxes are for books. However, textbooks or damaged books cannot be donated.
The boxes and bins are not plain and dull. The Marketing team has been working hard in decorating them with various designs and by putting up posters around the school. As part of Marketing I had fun in drawing and decorating the boxes. I’m hoping that people will be donating.
We are hoping that we will be able to exceed 900 lbs of books, which was last year’s amount by having everyone in the team donate.
The book drive will end on October 18th and the canned goods drive will end on November 1st.
