Southeastern Robot Wins Third Place in National Competition

In only a year and a half since Southeastern Regional began offering a robotics class through their cutting-edge engineering program, their robot, “Alden” has already earned third place in the National Robotics League competition. 

Alden participated in the ‘Battle ‘Bots’ competition, in the15-lb class category, at the Assabet Valley Regional Vo-Tech High School in Marlboro, Massachusetts, on March 31, facing off against 14 other area teams.

 Among the biggest factors in Alden’s success are his proud inventors: Ian Burrill of Norton, Tyreeke Hicks of Brockton, Thomas Cunningham of Norton and Jonathan Berry of Easton.  These robotics students improved upon last year’s model by adding defensive arms, state-of-the-art mechanisms, increased speed and some intimidating war paint.  These upgrades along with skillful maneuvering resulted in Alden entering the final phase with a perfect score.  During the last round, however, Alden suffered some damage but still emerged with third Place.

“It takes a lot of time and patience, but it’s definitely worth the investment,” Hicks said, a statement about which Cunningham and Berry both agreed.

Under the supervision of their instructors, Robert Wood and Robert Dennen, the students are encouraged to hone their mechanical skills and collaborate within their team as well as with other schools. 

 The students claim that when they see a TV commercial advertising a robot, they have an insight into how it works. That exciting connection to real-world products encourages them and bodes well for future successes. 

 Stay tuned for more good things to come from Southeastern Regional where they are promoting education in robotics- one of the fastest-growing industries in the job market today.