Building for

Firestorm Robotics Students Design, Construct, Test 120-Pound Robots

BY JESSICA FORRESTER

In January, the annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition season began, with 3,300 teams from 32 countries competing. This year’s challenge is to build a robot to retrieve and place cones and cubes on pegs and shelves, as well as parking robots on “charging stations” on a playing field. Since January, the Cherokee and Cobb County high school students, who make up the Firestorm Robotics team, based in Cherokee Makerspace in Acworth, have been working on strategizing, sketching ideas and creating designs and prototypes for their robot.

Teams have about two months to prepare for competitions, which end in April. Firestorm Robotics team members include Kennesaw State University dual-enrollment students Maura Zaccagnino, Elijah Wells and Tyler Clarke, Etowah High sophomore Alexis Cua, Marietta High sophomore Beatrix Bosak, junior Everette Slade (homeschooler), Chattahoochee Tech dual-enrollment student Alexander Bouchard, as well as middle schoolers who have shown an interest in the program.

During the competition season, team members put in long hours. Each team member is assigned a subteam and role, so every part of the robot is worked on. However, Firestorm is a year-round team, and, outside of competition season, students learn and expand their skills on platforms such as OnShape CAD,