Every year a collection of people gather together for an intense competition between robots. Students work together to build these robots and face them off during the competition. The Neobots, the AHS Robotics Club, is a group of students and mentors working together to construct a robot capable of winning  the annual competition. Each match of the competition puts two teams of three against each other. However, to make things fair, each team has an equal amount of time to work on the robot, and the game for the year is announced at a specific time so nobody can plan ahead. Once the game for the competition has been announced, each team only has six weeks to build their robot. Games are typically technical challenges that revolve around teamwork, such as basketball. During the competition there are 4 people that operate the robot: the captain, the driver, and two assistants whose roles vary depending on the game that year. Those not operating the robot are on the sidelines cheering for their team. It is not uncommon to find teams that bring team banners and dress in spirit gear. In between matches, each team has 10 minutes to make any necessary repairs to the robot. The first robotics competition this year is an all girls competition. The girls’ competition is identical to the normal competition except only females may operate the robot. In the mean time, all of the guys cheer on the sidelines.This year the girls’ competition will be on October 18.

Although there have only been a few meetings so far this year, there are a few new robotics members. One of the new recruits, Johanna Duell, ‘15, said “it seems like it’s going to be a lot of fun.” There are various reasons why being in Robotics is so much fun, but Andrew Berg, the AHS AP Chemistry teacher and robotics mentor, said “the number one reason is you get to build a robot.”

Robotics brings people with various skills and abilities together, including, but not limited to engineers, electricians, and people interested in business. Everyone who joins the club has a role and some ability that can be useful. Those who are artsy can decorate the robot with flair so it has some spirit, while others can build the robot. Caroline Vogl, a senior and the Vice-President of Robotics this year, said “it’s a place where you can be yourself and be with like-minded people”.

For those who are college bound, Robotics is very appealing to colleges. The teamwork and skills that people use in Robotics does not go unrecognized. It shows that a student is capable of working well with others and has valuable skills. The Robotics team also volunteers for the community. So in addition to gaining the favor of colleges, students also get the satisfaction of helping the community when in Robotics.

More informations on the AHS Robotics club can be found at http://www.neobots2903.org/
Those students who have yet to find a club where they fit in or need a way to kill some time should join the Neobots. There are two different meetings for the Robotics Club. On Tuesdays there is the FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge) meeting at 4:00 PM, where the group works on a small scale robot suitable for people with little robotics experience. Thursday FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) meetings are at 6:00 PM which focuses on the larger scale robot for the main competition in the spring. Both the Tuesday and Thursday meetings are in the Ag Mech room.