The Owensboro Innovative Academy robotics team recently had the opportunity to showcase their impressive engineering skills on a global stage. With over 60 teams from Kentucky competing, only seven were selected to participate in the world championships. This marked the fifth year in a row that the team has earned a spot at the championships, where they finished 46th out of 82 teams within their division.
The team’s robot, designed for wheel navigation via remote control, stood out as a unique creation not typically found in toy stores. William Wilson, a senior at Owensboro Innovation Campus, poured over 150 hours into constructing the robot, ensuring that it was perfectly squared so it could function properly. Precise construction is crucial, as Wilson explained that if things aren’t squared, the robot may not perform correctly and potentially cause unnecessary friction, damaging the machine.
The team put their well-crafted robot through its paces in various tournaments where it played a game of robotic soccer. Senior Ben Austin served as the robot’s driver and described the objective as straightforward – getting as many balls into the team’s goal as possible. Their hard work paid off and earned them a coveted spot at the world championships held in Dallas last month.
Stephanie Gray, head coach of the Owensboro Innovative Academy robotics team shared that only around 10% of teams from VEX Robotics advance to the world championships with over 800 teams worldwide participating. The competition was divided into different divisions each consisting of around 80 teams. Owensboro’s division included 82 teams with the team placing 46th within their division at
