HONEOYE — When looking to identify future innovators, look no further. The Honeoye Robotics 4-H Club is a group of young people ages 13-19 who build robots for competition. This year, they competed with their robot in two FIRST robotics competitions.
The 4-H club is led by Mike Shaughnessy. He, along with other engineering mentors Richard Langkamp, Eric Fiegl, and Keith Richardson, guided the teens in designing, building, and programming a functioning competition robot. Through this project, they not only learn important science and engineering skills, but also persistence, problem solving, and teamwork.
FIRST robotics stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, and it is a global organization. Each year a different task is put before teams. Teams must build robots that can complete a task within the specifications put forth by FIRST.
This year, the competition was entitled Crescendo, and required robots to place notes in designated speakers around the course. To finish the match, robots had to climb onto a stage.
The local 4-H team goes by the name of SUITS, which stands for Students Utilizing Ingenuity, Technology, and Science. Their first competition for 2024 was held at RIT the weekend of March 16. At that competition, the SUITS placed 31st out of 54 teams.
The robot fought them all the way, and they had to frequently return to the pit to repair mechanical issues. Under the leadership of their mentors, the teens worked hard to keep their robot going throughout the competition and never gave up. Upon their elimination from the RIT competition, the team returned to the shop to continue working on the robot for several hours.
Their second competition was at the NY Tech Valley Regional in Albany on the weekend of March 23. Plagued with mechanical problems yet again, the team worked hard in the pits trying to make the robot better. They finished 49th out 52 teams. But, because of all the hard work in the pits and the determination and drive of the team, their last three matches were their best.
This was a testament to their hard work improving the performance. The youth learned important engineering concepts through this experience — how to work through the problems and how to improve each time they were on the field.
The following youth club members attended the competitions this year: Daniel Richardson, Chloe Brunk, Chelsie Odenbach, Zachary Struble, Lily Temple, Lucas Mastin, Hunter Manciocchi, Jason Zanche, Cassandra Zanche, and Nicholas Connor.
If interested in learning more about 4-H, reach out to Ontario County 4-H educators Sarah Wilhelm and Amy Pyra at 585-394-3977.
Source: 4-H Honeoye Robotics Club competes in two FIRST robotics competitions
